Hebrews 9:1-5

¹ Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. ² For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; ³ and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, ⁴ which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; ⁵ and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

Commentary

Vs. 1 "Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary."

Having announced that the Lord Jesus Christ is our High Priest of the New Covenant (8:3) and that Old Covenant is now obsolete and growing old and is ready to vanish away (8:16). The Word of God now returns to describing some of the aspects of the Old Covenants service, so that the contrast between the temporary earthly service that once existed, and the eternal service and sacrifice of Christ that now is will be even more apparent when He returns to discussing it and it's implications for us all. And so here a brief overview of the first covenants Divine service in the earthly sanctuary is given us. 

Vs. 2 "For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;"

The tabernacle is what God commanded Moses to build in the wilderness (Ex. 26:1-37), (while the later Temple was given by the Word of God through David and was built by his son Solomon). Now the tabernacle's service was unique in that the tribes of Israel during their wilderness sojourn encamped around it in a specific order (Num. 1:51-54, 2:1-34), something that will be revisited with the Millennial Temple (Ezekiel 40-48:35). While the lampstand (see Ex. 21:35-40; Lev 24:2-4; Num. 8:1-4; also Ex. 40:17-33), the table which the showbread was placed upon (see Ex. 25:23-30; Lev 24:5-9), the sanctuary, (Ex. 25:8-9) and their arrangement was all done in a very specific way by the high priest; but the outsider who came near was to be put to death (Ex. 40:1-38; Num. 3:10, 38). 

Vs. 3  "and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All" 

The second veil, the place called the "Holiest of All" was where the Ark of Covenant resided, where the high priest once year went into to meet with God on the mercy seat of it on behalf of all the people (Ex 25:17-22; Num. 7:89), the holy ritual of which is described in (Lev. 16:1-34). 

Vs. 4-5  ⁴ which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; ⁵ and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

The golden censer was that which the high priest carried the burning incense from the altar of incense on into the Holiest of All (Ex. 30:1-10; also consider Rev 8:3), where the Ark of the Covenant was overlaid in pure gold (Ex. 25:1-22). Also in the Holiest of All there was the golden pot that held some of the manna which God fed the Israelite's with during their wilderness sojourn as a testimony to them (Ex. 16:32-24). Along with that there was Aaron's Rod that budded (Num. 17:1-13), and there was the tablets of Covenant (the Ten Commandments) that were placed inside the Ark where the golden cherubim overshadowed the mercy seat which was placed on top of the Ark of Covenant where the high priest met with God once a year on behalf of the people (Ex. 25:17-22). All highly significant and important and symbolic things which the Word of God does not want us to now go into great detail on, and thus miss what they were all pointing us too. And so in the next section the Word of God will continue on with His exhortation to show us the Superiority of Christ's sacrifice and Service.

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Hebrews 8:7-13

⁷ For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. ⁸ Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—⁹ not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. ¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ¹¹ None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. ¹² For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” ¹³ In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Commentary

Vs. 7 "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second."

The very fact that the first covenant failed to keep the Israelite's in a right relationship with God is the reason for God's Promises of bringing in a second. Now the "fault" with the first covenant is that it could do nothing about changing what was fundamentally wrong with the Old Covenant Israelite's, and all of us today, and that is our sin nature (and thus our Spiritually dead state because of it) that we have all inherited from Adam, and thus our separation from God because of it. For though the Law made temporary provisions for their sins, it did not provide a permanent solution for them (or us) to be reconciled back to God, and thus the Law did not resolve that fundamental problem of what was wrong with them and is wrong with us all and that is our sin nature and our inabilities to keep it.

Vs. 8  "Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—"

Therefore under the Old Covenant God could only find fault with them, because the Law required not just their obedience, but their ongoing blameless adherence to all of it's statutes, regulations, and commandments (consider Gal. 3:10-14; James 2:10), grace then is not something that comes to us through the Old Covenant, but only through the New Covenant do we find the grace of God (Rom 3:19-26; 4:4-8, 4:16; 5:1-2, 20-21; 6:14; 7:1-6; 11:5-6; Eph. 2:8-9 etc.).
It is clear then by the example of the Old Covenant Israelite's failures to keep His Covenant that God never intended for either them, or us, to be reconciled to Him by it, "but it was added because of transgressions until the Seed should come", that is the Promised Seed first spoken of in Genesis 3:15, prophesied in greater detail in Isaiah 7:14, and then fulfilled with the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 1:31-35; Gal. 3:19-25; 4:4-5). Who has by His own Sinless Life, Crucifixion death, and Resurrection from the dead not only made the everlasting atonement for all of our sins who believe in Him, but the Lord Jesus Christ has also paved the way for humanity to be reconciled back to God through Himself via the New Covenant by which God not only extends His grace to us, but He also by the regenerating work of His Holy Spirit gives us a new heart and mind, and thus sin and all of it's corrupting influence and power which has corrupted all of creation is no longer the dominating force in us who believe, but rather it is God's Spirit who not only sanctifies us, but He is the One who is also changing us from one glory to another, that is changing us from bearing the image of Adam to the image of Christ. Therefore the Law or Old Covenant by it's very nature does two very important things: First it shows us all our own sinful condition (Rom 7:7-12). And second it shows us all that there is absolutely nothing that we ourselves can do about it, to either change what is fundamentally wrong with ourselves and thus bring ourselves back into a reconciled relationship with God Himself. Something which every religion in the world seeks to do, and will always fail to do, because the only way to be reconciled to God and healed from the ravages of sin is through the work of God Himself through His own Son the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is what God in the Lord Jesus Christ through New Covenant promises to do, to first reconcile us to Himself by His grace alone, given to us all through His Son alone, the moment we believe in Him (Eph. 1:13-14; Titus 3:4-5). Then by His Spirit He regenerates us, bringing us to Spirit life and uniting us all who believe with the Lord Jesus Christ, giving us a new heart and new mind, and thus a new nature we are transformed from what we once were into a new creation, with new desires and new appetites (2 Cor 5:17). The Law then good in that it reveals to us God's Righteousness is often the means by which God brings us to Christ when we see ourselves as we really are, sinful and separated from God, and thus we see that there is nothing that we can do that would reconcile us back to God other then to repent and believe in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, who has already done everything that is necessary for us to be reconciled back to God the Father by faith in Himself. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Vs. 9 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord."

Therefore when God made His promises of a New Covenant by which He would bring the houses of Judah and Israel back to Himself, (a reference to the divided nation of Israel that had separated itself into two factions during King Solomon's reign), He did so not according to the Old Covenant that He made with their fathers when He took them by the hand and brought out of Egypt; because they did not continue in it, that is the very things God commanded them to do they did not keep doing and the very things He commanded them not to do those they did! Therefore God disregarded them according to it (Lev 18:1-5), for the Israelite's in breaking the Covenant God made with them when He brought them out of Egypt left Him with no other recourse other then to bring in a New Covenant through which He could restore not only the Israelite's to Himself (Jeremiah 31:31-34 Ezekiel 16:60-63), but also all of believing humanity back to Himself (Isaiah 42:6-9; 49:6), which He has done through His own Son the Lord Jesus Christ who is now the Covenant Bearer or Surety for us, and because He is the Covenant Bearer for us God has commanded our obedience to Him and Him alone (See Acts 3:11-26, vs. 23).  

Vs. 10 ¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 

Whereas the Old Covenant (i.e. the Law) was righteous and holy and good, it gives us no inherent desires to want to keep it, but rather it only arouses and awakens the sin nature, and thus rather then defeating sin within us, sin is only made very real to us all through it (Rom 7:4-12). Therefore in the New Covenant God does something fundamentally different with us, and that is God puts His Laws in our minds and our hearts of us all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this He does by His Holy Spirit who again is the One who both seals us for all eternity, but also He is the One who is sanctifying us by God's Word, and thus is transforming us into Christ likeness through the same (John 17:17, 19). Therefore no one who claims to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and yet is hostile to God's Unchanging and Everlasting moral decrees has been born of God, for God's Spirit always works in accord with His Word to make us His sanctified people. 

Vs. 11 "None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them." 

In the Old Covenant economy people would like to say to each other, "Know the Lord" as an exhortation and appeal for people to keep God's commandments. However with the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilling the Old Covenant and ushering in the New, and thus with His Holy Spirit being poured out and into us all who believe in Him, there is no need for such exhortations amongst us who believe in Him. For we all Know Him, from the least of us to the greatest of us, for He by His Spirit indwells us all who believe in Him. And thus we all have a God given hunger for His Word, desiring to both here it, but also declare it, so that it might be obeyed by us, and by all. That is the state of every born again Christian. There is then only one kind of believing Christian and that is the one who knows God by God's grace alone through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, and thus having all our sins washed away by the blood of Lamb of God through faith in His death on the Cross we have the washing and renewing by the Holy Spirit by which we are given new hearts and new minds, and thus we can now see things not from the fleshes, or this world's unregenerate perspectives, but from God's (1 Cor 2:13-16).

Vs. 12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

The superiority then of the New Covenant to the Old is self evident, for God never said to the Israelite's through the Old Covenant that He would be merciful to their unrighteousness, and all their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more, rather these promises now come to us all through the New Covenant which the Lord Jesus Christ ushered in. And so the New Covenant is not based on being maintained by the works of man, as was the nature of the Old Covenant, but rather the Work of God. 

Vs. 13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Therefore with the New Covenant being ushered in God Himself has made the first Covenant obsolete. Thus the Old Covenant is no longer valid as a means for being in a Covenant relationship with God. We must all come to God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and not by "faith" in keeping or having kept some of the Old Covenant commandments, statutes, and or stipulations (Gal. 2:21). Therefore since God Himself has made the first Covenant obsolete, it is growing old and is ready to vanish away. Believers then must resist and reject every inclination or word of man which would seek to put them back under the Law, as the Apostle did for the Gentile believers and the early church in Acts 15.

Scripture Quotations 
The New King James Version. (1982). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Hebrews 8:1-6

¹ Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ² a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man. ³ For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. ⁴ For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; ⁵ who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” ⁶ But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

Commentary

Vs. 1 "Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens"

If Jews thought that Christians were somehow lacking because they had the temple and the priesthood and all that was found and required in the Law, then sadly they were missing it all, because the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law! And all that they were still holding onto was only a foreshadow of Christ Himself and His Ministry on our behalf. And so unlike Aaron and the earthly priesthood that came through him, which only served God in the earthly Tabernacle, then Temple, both of which were only made by human hands. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Everlasting High Priest of God who is now seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, and thus He alone intercedes for us from there. Something which Aaron and the high priests who followed him could never do, because of their sinful and mortal nature. For even here on earth they could only enter the holy of the holiness behind the veil only once a year, and only after going through great preparations to sanctify both the altar, the temple, the priests, the people, as well as themselves, so that their offering would be accepted, and they themselves would not be consumed by God's Holiness, for any sort of irreverence on their part (consider Lev. 10:1-3, 16:1-34). And so consider our Most Blessed State with God for we do not need an earthly priest to intercede for us, for we have Christ Himself as our High Priest before God who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. 

Vs. 2 "a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man."

The Lord Jesus Christ alone is the Minister of the heavenly sanctuary and the true tabernacle which the Lord erected and not man. A read of the Book of Revelations and the related passages of it will reveal that Christ's realm and Ministry is that of God's alone. All then that God commanded be done on earth was just types and figures, representations, of His own true heavenly Ministry (vs. 5). 

Vs. 3 "For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer." 

Following the model that God Himself ordained that the high priest would be the one to offer both the gifts, as well as the required sacrifices for sins, it was thus necessary that this One (a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ) also have something to offer. 
Vs. 4 "For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law;"

The Jesus the Messiah then did not serve as a priest on earth because there are priests who offer gifts and sacrifices according to the law, who were called by God through the tribe of Levi to serve Him there, to serve the copies and the shadow of the reality (vs. 5), all which is found fulfilled in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  His high priestly service then is not that of the earthly sanctuary but rather the heavenly, where He serves God the Father as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek forever.

Vs. 5 who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

And so it would be impossible for the Lord Jesus Christ to serve on earth as a priest, because He would then only be serving the copy and shadow of what He Himself came to fulfill! And that was not His purpose for coming forth from God, rather that purpose was for those descended from Levi, to prepare the people for the coming and finial sacrifice of Christ Himself. Therefore when God commanded Moses to make the Tabernacle, God solemnly told him to make all things according to the pattern shown him on the mountain.  

Vs. 6 "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises."

Therefore the Lord Jesus Christ has obtained a more excellent ministry, because His is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. The Lord Jesus Christ than is not a Minister of the Old Covenant, but of the New (2 Cor 3:5-11) which establishes for us eternal salvation because it was given through better promises which Christ Himself has fulfilled and will fulfill as He keeps us all who believe in Him secured in Himself for the day of redemption. Consider then that A Better Sanctuary, A Better Ministry, A Better Covenant, all equates with a better life both here and now and for eternity for us all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is Ministering for us all who believe in Him through Better Promises. For that is what is the result of Christ's Sacrifice add Service on our behalf, not only the remission of all our sins and everlasting life the moment we believe in Him, but also abundant life here and now as we follow Him, all which culminates in an eternity with Him. Therefore if you have been seeking life and liberty and freedom and fulfillment and significance for yourself and have not found it, maybe it is because what you are doing and pursuing is not capable of doing that? For all the deepest longings of our souls are only satisfied when we are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, as Jesus Himself said: "I Am the bread of life, he who comes to Me shall never hunger, and He who believes in Me shall never thirst."  John 6:35 
The Lord Jesus Christ alone then can and satisfy all those God placed deep longings within you when you come home to God the Father by faith in Him, something that mere "religion" will never do (Luke 15:11-32). Therefore I urge you be reconciled to God today, by repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for then you will be not only be saved and satisfied from on High, but you will also be transformed by the renewing and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit which will bring Christ's life and purposes into you, and thus He will begin a new life in you and work out everlasting purposes through you, impacting lives all around you, therefore don't delay be reconciled to God today!  

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Additional Resources Consulted

Vs. 1. MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Edited by Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995. 

Hebrews 7:20-28

²⁰ And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath ²¹ (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”), ²² by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. ²³ Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. ²⁴ But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. ²⁶ For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; ²⁷ who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

Commentary

Vs. 20-21 ²⁰ And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath ²¹ (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”), 

The point being made here is that the Lord Jesus Christ, unlike Aaron and his priesthood, was made a Priest by an oath given by the Lord God. And so the oath being given by God the Father to Christ His Son is His own confirmation to Him (and us all) that His Priesthood is not only Superior to Aaron's but it will have no end, Therefore the Scripture again states: The Lord has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’ ” 

Vs. 22 "by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant." 

The New Covenant and Christ's Priesthood then is eminently Superior to the Old Covenant and Aaron's priesthood born out of it, because as previously stated both Aaron and the Old Covenant made nothing, or no one perfect (Heb. 7:11-19, vs. 11-12, 19). And so Jesus has become, by an oath made by God, a surety (i.e guarantor) of a better covenant, established on better promises (Heb 8:6). 

Vs. 23 "Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing." 

The Word of God continues on reasoning with us as to why both Jesus' Person and Priesthood is Superior to Aaron's. Under the Old Covenant both the high priest, and those priests who served with him were all temporary, their tenures were all limited by their own morality. And so with each and every generation there was always the need for a new high priest (and priests) who would officiate before God on behalf of the people. Now some of these men were Godly, like Samuel, and some were not, like Eli and his sons (see 1 Samuel 1-4). And so Aaron's priesthood by it's very nature had the fundamental flaw of lacking any sort of consistency or permanence, because not all men are holy, and not all men are just, and no man (whether just or not) is assured of life itself, only death itself. Therefore death always limited them all from continuing on in their service, (and thus their work on behalf of both the individual, as well as the nation of Israel was temporary) because theirs was not the eternal service for God, it was and will always be Jesus Christ's the Lord.  

Vs. 24 "But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood."

And so unlike them, the Lord Jesus Christ whose Person, Sacrifice, and now Intercession for us all who believe in Him continues forever, He has an Unchanging Priesthood via the New Covenant.

Vs. 25 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." 

Since then Jesus Christ's Person and tenure as High Priest of God on our behalf will never end, "...He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Now being saved to the uttermost (gr. παντελές) means not only completely, but also perpetually, forever. Thus with Christ's sacrifice for our sins completed; and thus forever satisfying the justice of God; the Lord Jesus Christ's intercession on our behalf is likewise forever interceding for us as need arises, being based solely upon His Atoning sacrifice at Calvary which is the means by which we as sinful men, woman, and children are reconciled to God the moment we believe in Him (Eph. 1:13-14). 

Vs. 26 "For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;" 

The point being made here is that there was but One Man, the Son of Man/Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ who alone could fulfill this unique Role as the Everlasting High Priest to God for us. 

Jesus Christ alone is holy, for He alone is the expressed Image of God (Col. 1:15).
Jesus Christ alone is harmless, (gr. ἄκακος, "guileless, without fault, upright, innocent"). And yet more than just being blameless or innocent in every sense, this word also indicates something that is exceedingly good in it's fundamental nature, and thus is the antithesis of every and any form of evil. In stark contrast to that then the devils fundamental nature is to kill, steal, and destroy in whatever ways he can, for that is what he is naturally, and so that is what he seeks to do too, and through men and woman's lives in this world of which He rules, and holds sway over. Therefore where such things take place you now the devil is at work deceiving and or swaying people to do his own evil will. Now the only reason I'm stating as much is so that you will understand the striking contrast between the Works of the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ and the works of the devil, because the Lord Jesus Christ not only is Good, but He only seeks to do Good, and will do nothing but Good, which is in accord with the Will of God, and which is in accord with His own Fundamental Nature. 
Jesus Christ alone is undefiled, neither Aaron nor the priests descended from him were undefiled,
if they were God would not have required a sacrifice first for their own sins, before they could begin interceding on behalf of the people for theirs.
Jesus Christ alone is separate from sinners, now this does not mean that Jesus has nothing to do with sinners, for He was crucified with and for sinners (Isaiah 53). What it means is that as our Crucified, Resurrected, and now Ascended Lord and Savior seated at the right hand of God, Jesus Christ alone is both uniquely qualified, and in the position to intercede to God for us, because He alone is separate from sinners, because Jesus Christ alone has a Sinless Nature.

Vs. 27 "who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself."

Because of the Lord Jesus Christ's Sinless Person and Nature (as well as the Completeness and Sufficiency and Finality of His own Sacrifice) He does not need to offer up daily sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the peoples He is interceding for, because this He did once and for all time when He offered up Himself to God on the cross for us all. The Lord Jesus Christ's Sinless Person and Sacrifice then uniquely qualifies Him to serve as God's High Priest on our behalf. 

Vs. 28 "For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever."

 

Another failing of the Law is that it only appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses (gr. ἀσθένειαa: weakness, incapacity, limitation etc.). And so unlike the Lord Jesus Christ whose Divine Person and Nature has no weaknesses, and who alone was called by an oath given by God Himself, (referencing Psalm 110:4), the high priests the law appointed were all men bound with weaknesses, in that they all bore a sinful nature, and they all were subject to death. And so with the Lord Jesus Christ their is no weaknesses or limitations. For even as the Son of Man who once subjected Himself in the flesh to death (John 10:17-18), Jesus is no more subject to death, because He has by His own Resurrection from the dead been Perfected forever, when by laying down His own life on the Cross for us all, He three days later He took it up again on behalf of us all. The Lord Jesus Christ then is the first born of the Resurrection of the dead, and thus by doing so He alone has enacted God's Promise of everlasting life coming to one and all who repent and believe in Him crucified and Risen from the dead. Therefore unlike the mere mortal men whom the Law appointed as high priests, who only serve for a season, because they are all subject to sin and death, and thus they can by no means deliver themselves or anyone else from it's clutches, because of their own inherent weaknesses and mortality. The oath sworn by God the Father to His own Son Jesus Christ that He would be a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, exceedingly surpasses and supplants everything that Aaron and the high priesthood that came through him did and could do. For apart from Christ and His ministry for us there is no escape from sin and ultimately death which it brings to bear on us all. The Superiority then of Christ's Person and Priesthood over Aaron and that which came through the Law then is self evident to one and all who repent and believe and thus trust not in Aaron and Law (and thus ones own righteousness according to it) but only in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Resources Consulted For Word Studies

Kittel, Gerhard, Gerhard Friedrich, and Geoffrey William Bromiley. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1985.

Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1996.

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.

Commentary

Vs. 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?"

Perfection could never come through the Levitical priesthood because both it's priests and it's service and sacrifices were all temporary. Therefore this verse begins one of strongest sections on the change of both the priesthood, but also the Covenant of which we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are now under. Therefore as the Word of God says, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law); of which we are not now under (Rom 6:14); 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? For the priesthood that came through Aaron was only given to minister the Law to the people under it, it was not given to minister the Gospel by which perfection ultimately comes to one and to all who repent and believe. Therefore the Lord Jesus Christ having provided the Atonement for all our sins and transgressions, because we are all transgressors according to the Law (Rom 3:19-26; James 2:10), being called to serve as God's High Priest (and thus having fulfilled the Law, the Old Covenant, before enacting the New Covenant) had to be called according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to Aaron's priesthood, which could never make anyone perfect through it's services and sacrifices. For like the Law which came through it, it was temporary, until both the Seed and His Sacrifice of Himself for us all was accomplished (Isaiah 53, vs. 10; Gal 3:19-25 etc.). 

Vs. 12 "For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law." 

And so with a change in priesthood, there is of necessity a change of the law (or covenant). There is than no clearer Scriptural statement of this than what is stated here. The New Covenant brought forth and enacted by the Lord Jesus Christ's shed blood and broken body than is how we draw near to God.

Vs. 13-14 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.

The Word of God now makes another point about the Lord Jesus Christ being called according to the order of Melchizedek and not according to Aaron, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ came through the tribe of Judah, (not Levi), from which no man has officiated at the altar. A tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. Now this is being stated to refute every and any notions that anyone may have about the Lord Jesus Christ and His High Priesthood for us all being an continuation on of Aaron's or anyone else's. 

Vs. 15-16 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.

Therefore Lord Jesus came in likeness of Melchizedek, but not as following a descendancy of Melchizedek or Aaron or anyone else in regards to His serving as High Priest. For the Lord Jesus Christ was not called as God's High Priest according to the law of a fleshly commandment (that is God did not call His own Son into His Service through a fleshly commandment given to a mortal man), but the Lord Jesus Christ has been called by God according to the power of an endless life, which is God's witness to us all that is His Son and His service for us all. The Superiority than of Christ's call over Aaron's is then the point being made here.  

Vs. 17  For He testifies: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”

Therefore it is God who says to His Son, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4) Thus Jesus' Priesthood being established and sanctified from everlasting to everlasting is unique, and therefore must always be distinguished from Aaron's, because God our Father prepared it for Him alone. For the Lord Jesus Christ's ministry, unlike Aaron's, will never end. 

Vs. 18-19 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.

The Word of God in verse eighteen makes it clear that there has been an annulling of the former commandment; literally then the ministry of Aaron has been done away with, because the law itself as a means by which men draw near to God (and thus as the means by which we are brought into a covenant relationship with Him) has been done away with. Now the reason the former commandment has been done away with was it's weakness and unprofitableness (vs. 18); that is it was weak and unprofitable in that it could not make perfect through it's ordinances and sacrifices (which needed to be repeated over and over again) those who were drawing near to God through it.
Therefore in verse nineteen the Word of God states: "the law made nothing perfect...", which is the indictment of it's weakness and unprofitableness, and thus it's inability to change anyone or anything, because all of creation is tainted by sin, ruled by death, and is swayed by Satan, therefore no one can be healed and made whole again by it. The Law simply doesn't have the power to do what only God can do for us all. In fact if you break this down to a personal level the Law will by no means strengthen you in your own resolve against sin, for the strength of sin is the Law (1 Cor 15:56), thus the sinful nature (or the flesh) is not held captive by the Law, it is only aroused by it (Rom 7:5-6). The Law then made nothing perfect, but only kept us under guard until God our Father provided through His own Son the Lord Jesus Christ the everlasting Atonement that would change everything and everyone who repents and believes in Him. Therefore through the Lord Jesus Christ and His Everlasting Sacrifice and Ministry there is the bringing in of a better hope through which we can all now draw near to God, not by mortal priests and their interceding for us, but directly through the Sacrifice and Ministry and Intercession of God's own Son. From the lowest of sinners to the most "refined" of men and women from every nation, of every language, of every generation, of every walk of life, there is now no one, or no place, which the Gospel cannot reach and thus is excluded from the redemption of Almighty God and having reconciliation with God Himself through Christ Himself. The day of salvation then is right here and right now for you, for me, and for everyone who repents and believes, therefore don't delay be reconciled too God today!

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.