Hebrews 7:11-20

The Imperfections of Levi's Priesthood

If the end of God's plan for the redemption of man was to come under the Levitical priesthood, there would not have been a need for another priest of the order of Melchizedek. Parenthetically, the writer reminds the reader that redemption under the old law stands or falls with the Levite priest (Galatians 3:21-24). Since the priesthood changed under Christ, the law must also have changed. Priests were important in the Mosaic system. Without their sacrifices, there would be no law. The change in law and some of its effects are noted elsewhere in scripture (2 Corinthians 3:6-14; Galatians 3:19-29; Galatians 4:19-31). In Colossians 2:10-17, Paul shows that the order of the priesthood was changed at the cross, since in Christ's crucifixion the law of Moses was nailed to the cross (Hebrews 7:11-12).

Under the law, only those of the house of Aaron could serve at the altar (Numbers 16-28:7). Psalms 110:4 indicates a change was to one day come. Since Jesus was not of Aaron's house, He could not, by law, wait at the altar. Jesus was of the tribe of Judah, which was not the priestly tribe (Isaiah 11:1-5; Micah 5:2; Revelation 5:5; Matthew 1:1-25; Luke 3:1-38). The priesthood of Christ is that of the order of Melchizedek and represents a change from the Aaronic priesthood. Christ was also of the tribe of Judah, which shows a change in the priestly tribe since it was that of Levi. Jesus did not receive his priesthood from a fleshly, perishable, line of men, but from the eternal power of God.

The law of Moses just gave the priesthood to descendants with no thought of other qualifications. Christ received the office of priest because He was eternal. Melchizedek's priesthood was totally uninterupted, so Christ could only be called a priest after his order once He was raised from the dead and could serve without interruption (Hebrews 7:13-17; Psalms 110:4).

The law of Moses had to be set aside, made void, or abolished before a new law could take effect. The law had to be replaced because it could not bring anything to perfection. The new law is better as it allows one to draw closer to God through the blood of Christ. God's oath in connection with Christ's priesthood stresses its importance. It also shows that this law was to last forever, since God fully keeps his oaths and a Melchizedek priest has no end (Hebrews 7:18-20).