Hebrews 7:11-22

If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still the need for another priest to come—one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?  For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law.  He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar.  For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.  And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.  For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”  The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.  And it was not without an oath!  Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’”  Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant (Hebrews 7:11-22 NIV).

   In the first six chapters of Hebrews, the author gently prepared his Jewish brothers to receive the radical thesis point that is bluntly stated here: They no longer needed to be under the Mosaic Law; the Messiah has come!  Due to the author’s language, we have to be careful here.  He is not saying that the Mosaic Law was bad.  The Mosaic Law was given by God to the Israelites through Moses.  The purpose of the Mosaic Law was important.  As Dr. Neil Lightfoot stated, “It made beginnings, taught basic principles, awakened impulses, foreshadowed and pointed the way...”(1).  And I think more than anything, God’s purpose was to show the Hebrews, and ultimately the world, that we people cannot save ourselves by our own efforts.  There is no sacrifice we human beings can make which will bring the complete forgiveness and a permanent uniting with God.
   As the history within the Old Testament continues after the Mosaic covenant was made by God with the Israelites, there is a consistent pattern which involves people straying, and the Israelites endured as a nation solely due to the mercy of God.  The pattern within the book of Judges is one example.  After the death of a judge, the Israelites would start doing all kinds of wrong stuff.  The consequence of straying from God would be that they would lose His protection, and they would then be conquered or terrorized by a foreign country.  They would put up with this agony for a period of time, but then they would cry out to God for help.  Then God would raise up a “judge,” who was a leader in many senses, including military, and this judge would bring about a victory over the foreign conqueror or oppressor.  Then Israel would know peace for the rest of that judge’s duration as judge.  Yet guess what?  As soon as the judge died, the tragic past would repeat itself.  This goes on and on.  Peace that could have been enjoyed by the Israelites was forfeited time and time again, until the people cried out to God when in agony.
   Now that the Messiah was sacrificed as the Lamb of God on the cross, the Mosaic Law is no longer necessary because Jesus furthered the Law and Jesus fulfilled the Law.  The Messiah paid the price of spiritual death for all people, thus now a new covenant is available.  The Mosaic Covenant: If the Israelites would obey the Mosaic Law, then they would live long and prosper in the land that God procured for them.  The New Covenant: If a person believes in Jesus the Messiah, then he or she has eternal life.  This is because the atoning death of Jesus made it possible for people to be forgiven of sins permanently, in contrast to the temporal forgiveness under the Mosaic Covenant.  Thus receiving Jesus is being forgiven of all sins, and is being united with God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Being united with God, indwelled with the Holy Spirit, a person is enabled to become a more and more loving person.  Thus by being loving, a person who believes in Jesus is able to truly love, the foundation of the Mosaic Law.  In a totally different manner, the author of Hebrews is stating what Paul stated in his Epistle to the Galatians; a person who believes in Jesus is not under the Law, rather he or she lives by the Spirit.
Hunter Irvine
(1) Neil R. Lightfoot, Jesus Christ Today: A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976), 144.