The Better Priest Series

The list of qualifications for the Jewish priest included more than just a calling. One had to be a male descendant in the tribe of Levi, to be high priest you had to be able to trace your ancestors back to Aaron. Priests could only serve in their role between the ages of 30-50 and had to demonstrate that they had a godly marriage and family. Spiritually, they had to be careful to not allow themselves to be unclean by what came into their presence. Physically, their bodies had to have no blemishes- scars, missing body parts, or other wounds would disqualify them from service. In addition, they must maintain a proper beard and head of hair.

While men would choose the next priests based on these qualifications, God Himself called Jesus to the priesthood. The Hebrews author quotes two verses from Psalms to show that God Himself called Jesus to be high priest. Read Psalm 2:7. This verse shows us that Jesus isn’t only a priest like others who have come before Him, He is God’s Son. Read Psalm 110:4. This verse helps us to see that Jesus isn’t simply a priest like the Jewish priests. He comes from a higher order, an eternal priesthood, like that of Melchizedek, whom we’ll look at more closely in a minute.

I believe the reason that God gave the physical and spiritual conditions for priests that He did was because He will not allow sin to enter His presence. Notice how similar these conditions are to those of the Passover lamb. It can have no blemishes, must be physically perfect, must be prepared in a specific way, remaining spiritually clean. To accomplish this, other priests had to offer sacrifices to cover their own sins, but Jesus was already perfect, was already clean, was already fully qualified to fulfill His duties. Jesus qualifies as priest better.

Finally, we see in Hebrews 5:7-10 that Jesus fills the perfection of priest better. I’ve mentioned this a couple times already, but the Jewish priests had to sacrifice on behalf of themselves before they could sacrifice for others because they were imperfect, they were human, they had sin in their lives. Being both fully God and fully Man, only Jesus was able to live life perfectly, making Him the perfect priest. These priests were chosen from among men, so God chose to draw from a higher order of priest- the order of Melchizedek.

We don’t know much about Melchizedek. His entire story is contained in four verses, Genesis 14:17-20. Abraham’s nephew Lot had been taken captive during a battle involving nine kings. When Abraham finds out, he gathers his men and defeats Lot’s captors. Upon his return, he is met by the king of Sodom, who desires to get his people back, and Melchizedek, who is identified not only as the king of Salem but also as priest of God Most High. This Melchizedek preceded the Jewish priests, in fact he’s the first priest mentioned in the Bible. He was also the king of Salem, which is interesting because David eventually conquers Salem and renames this city to be Jerusalem, where the temple of the Most High God would be built. I believe God included Melchizedek here as a reminder that He is God of ALL people, not just the Jews. Paul also talks about the fact that God has revealed Himself to all people in Romans 1:18-20. No one has an excuse for not knowing God and His desire for people to have a relationship with Him.