Hebrews 7:11–19

Thank You Father for the New Covenant purchased by the perfect sacrifice of Your only begotten Son, our Redeemer King, Jesus. 

In and through Jesus we have reconciliation with You. In and through Him we have access to Holy Spirit who will teach us Your ways and safely deliver us into our forever home!

Christ within is our only hope of Gods’ glory.

Hebrews 7:11–19

11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. 13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.

14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. 

17 For He testifies:

“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.”

18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

If the Levitical priesthood had been able to bring people to perfection, then a superior priest from the order of Melchizedek would not have been needed. If the priests under the Law of Moses could offer permanent reconciliation between God and His people, there would be no need for a coming Messiah, One who would restore the Israelites to their relationship with God.

Change means “removal”. If the Melchizedek priesthood removed the Levitical priesthood, then the Mosaic Law is also removed. In short, the believer is not under the Law but instead relies on the righteousness of Christ. He of whom these things are spoken is the Lord, who arose from another tribe, namely Judah. According to the Law, the tribe of Judah had nothing to do with the priesthood. If the OT said that another priest was coming from another tribe, then clearly the Law was going to be superseded.

The law, which regulated the priesthood, was fleshly in the sense that it regulated a person’s external actions. The Lord, however, is a Priest according to the power of an endless life. Jesus is a different kind of Priest, another indication that the Law has been changed. There has been an annulling, a putting away, of the Law. NKJ Bible.

The Greek word used here, teleiōsis, for perfection, refers to the qualifications required to draw near to God. The author of Hebrews denies the Levitical system’s ability to produce perfection. God established it as a means for His people to maintain relationship with Him. The Order of Melchizedek Replaces the Order of Aaron. Jesus, who like Melchizedek did not belong to the lineage of Levi and Aaron.

The law was a temporary provision given to God’s people until the arrival of Christ. Since the law was maintained by the Levitical priesthood, it must change now that a superior priest (Jesus) has arrived. Jesus belonged to the tribe of Judah, not Levi. Judah had no role in the religious activities of the tabernacle or temple. The Israelite kings from Judah, David and Solomon, may have provided precedent for someone from Judah to serve at the altar. That is, served as a priest. Jesus defeated death through His resurrection. His priesthood, like Melchizedek’s, endures forever. The priestly functions of the OT are no longer necessary because of Jesus’ priestly work. The greek term Athetēsis refers to the annulment or cancellation of something—in this case the former commandment. The author of Hebrews reasons that God has the right to annul what He has instituted. Faithlife Bible.

The better covenant, of which Jesus was the Surety, is not here contrasted with the covenant of works, by which every transgressor is shut up under the curse. It is distinguished from the Sinai covenant with Israel, and the legal dispensation under which the church so long remained. The better covenant brought the church and every believer into clearer light, more perfect liberty, and more abundant privileges. In the order of Aaron there was a multitude of priests, of high priests one after another; but in the priesthood of Christ there is only one and the same. This is the believer’s safety and happiness, that this everlasting High Priest is able to save to the uttermost, in all times, in all cases. Matthew Henry Commentary.

Psalm 110:4 The LORD has sworn and will not relent,“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Isaiah 11:1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

Revelation 5:5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”