22 Dec 2011
Hebrews 7:11-12
Hebrews 7:11: “If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”
Here we have an interesting technical discussion on the priesthood of Christ. This is the sort of thing that churches tend to overlook, in their haste to preach sermons that don’t offend anyone. (In fact, churches try not to teach doctrine at all if they can help it. Doctrine is seen as “divisive” and so it is avoided. What God thinks about all of this is generally not considered.)
The priestly line went through the tribe of Levi, but Jesus came from the tribe of Judah. This means that Jesus was not a priest by way of the Mosaic Law. Instead, He was a priest “in the older of Melchisedec”. Melchisedec was not a Levite, and yet he was a priest of God. The Bible does not record him having a father, mother, or a death (although I’m sure he had all of those things). This made him a type of Christ, and pointed to the type of priest that Jesus was going to be. Jesus is our perpetual high priest, made so because of “the power of an endless life”. He is superior to the other priests by the nature of His Person.