Christ our Great High Priest

 

The book of Hebrews is largely dedicated to establishing the supremacy of Christ’s person and the superiority of Christ’s work over against the Old Covenant for the purpose of exhorting Jewish professors of Christ from returning to the former system which had become largely corrupt by the time of this epistle’s writing. The author establishes the authority for his message on the prior revelations of the word of God and rests on Scripture alone to speak in defense of his message. In doing so, he relies on the familiarity of the Scriptures, which his readers likely had, allowing him to build off of them and show clearly the similarity and superiority of Christ.

Perhaps this is seen most clearly in the establishment of Christ as High Priest. Notions of Christ’s fulfillment of this priestly office can be seen from the very beginning of this epistle through the language of Hebrews 1:3 “After making purification for sins,” Hebrews 2:11 “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source,” and Hebrews 2:17-18 “17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” While these passages offer hints of more to come, the real exposition on the priesthood of Christ is developed in chapter 5, beginning in verse 1,

“¹For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. ³ Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. ⁴ And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

“You are my Son,

today I have begotten you”;

⁶ as he says also in another place,

“You are a priest forever,

after the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸ Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, ¹⁰ being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”

This discourse begins by providing a reminder of the Aaronic Priesthood established under the Old Covenant. Several passages present a helpful background to aid in this understanding, Exodus 28, Leviticus 9, Leviticus 16, Numbers 16; 18, 2 Samuel 7:13-14. The features of this older priesthood are enumerated by the author:

• Chosen from among men
• To act on behalf of men (in relation to God)
• To offer gifts and sacrifices for sins
• Beset by weaknesses; allows him to relate
• Offers sacrifices for his own sins
• Not self-appointed, but called by God

Interestingly, this passage follows the chiastic structure(1), named from the greek letter chi represented by an X, to better illustrate the point of superiority that the author is hoping to make. The use of this literary device, the chiasm, is meant to create a mirror of a particular idea or concept. Generally the most important point can be found in the middle of the “X”. This can be seen below(2):

A The old office of high priest (v.1)

B The sacrifice offered by the high priest (v.1)

C The weakness of the high priest (vv. 2-3)

D The appointment of the high priest (v. 4)

D` The appointment of Christ, the new High Priest (vv. 5-6)

C` The suffering of the new High Priest (vv. 7-8)

B` The sacrificial provision of the new High Priest (v. 9)

A` The new office of High Priest

As the passage transitions from the Aaronic priesthood (vs. 4) to the priesthood of Christ (vs. 5), we can begin to see the aforementioned similarities and superiorities, beginning with the appointment of Christ to the priesthood by His Father:

⁵So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

“You are my Son,

today I have begotten you”;

⁶ as he says also in another place,

“You are a priest forever,

after the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸ Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, ¹⁰ being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”

The features of this newer priesthood are enumerated by the author:

• Christ’s Priesthood was an appointment to the priesthood by God the Father.
• Christ’s Priesthood is grounded in His Sonship.
• Christ’s Priesthood is based on the authority of God’s Word.
• Christ’s Priesthood is eternal.
• Christ’s Priesthood is “after the order of Melchizedek” not Levi (Aaron).
• Christ’s humanity AND Divinity are essential to His Priesthood.
• Christ’s Priesthood is not beset by “weakness”; instead His is marked by His impeccability.
• Christ’s Priesthood is efficacious and salvific.

Jesus was declared to be priest on the divine orders of His Father and the author of Hebrews points out that this declaration was recorded in the older testament, specifically Psalm 2 and Psalm 110. This quotation is interesting because it grounds the authority of Christ’s office as High Priest in the Scriptures and again references Psalm 2:7 to show that just has His kingship flowed forth from His Sonship, so too does His priesthood.

The relationship between the Aaronic (Levitical) priesthood and Christ’s priesthood can best be understood as typical, meaning that the Levitical priesthood was a type pointing forward to the antitype or greater reality that is Christ’s priesthood. Christ was a man like Aaron, but the God-Man (greater). By establishing Christ as High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, we can observe another great reality, namely that His Priesthood was pre-Mosaic law (covenant). Melchizedek was both king and priest, providing a type for better understanding the relationship of Christ as Priest-King, bringing together both offices and fulfilling the prophecies of Psalm 110. The Melchizedekian priesthood will be further defined by the author of Hebrews in chapter 7 and following, but we may conclude with an observation by A.W. Pink. In his commentary on this epistle, he notes that the Aaronic priesthood was typical of Christ in an earthly fashion. i.e. Christ being both the priest and the sacrifice once for all, while the Melchizedekian priesthood was typical of Christ’s in a heavenly fashion, as He rules now as both Priest and King.

What a glorious Savior! He who serves as both the sacrifice and the Priest now seated at the right hand of the Father having begun His heavenly session to make intercession for His people. Would that we would understand how powerful and significant this is in our lives as believers.  May it draw us nearer to Christ and cause us to love Him more.

 

[1] A chiasm (also called a chiasmus) is a literary device in which a sequence of ideas is presented and then repeated in reverse order. The result is a “mirror” effect as the ideas are “reflected” back in a passage. Each idea is connected to its “reflection” by a repeated word, often in a related form. The term chiasm comes from the Greek letter chi, which looks like our letter X. Chiastic pattern is also called “ring structure.”

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/chiasm-chiastic.html#ixzz3OvjR4HZz

[2] Modified from George Guthrie, The NIV Application Commentary: Hebrews (Zondervan, Grand Rapids MI), 1998.