A Permanent Priesthood

“But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:24-25).” Just out of curiosity, I did a quick search on what the process is for selecting a priest. I thought I’d be taken to a site which talked about the selection process of one of the many Christian religions. However, I was directed to a website discussing one’s opinion on how to select a priest when the new temple in Israel is built. Among the criteria for selecting a priest were: he must be of priestly descent. This means he must be a direct descendant (following the male line) of Aaron, the brother of Moses. The high priest must be one described as “the greatest from amongst his brethren.” This means he must have “greatness in piety (“awe of G‑d”), wisdom, handsomeness, wealth (which, if necessary, is supplied to him), and strength.” Then something interesting was written: “When a high priest dies or retires, the natural heir to the position is his son (or, if he has no son, the next closest suitable heir), provided that the son is a truly pious individual.” This reminded me of Hebrews 7:23 where it says, “Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office.” Human beings die and, therefore, need to be replaced. However, Jesus Christ is our High Priest who lives forever. There is no need to replace Him because He has a permanent priesthood. What are the responsibilities of a priest? “For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins (Hebrews 5:1-3).” 

A priest has to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins both for himself, because he is weak, and for the people. This is why a priest had to always be replaced because the sins of the people never go away and, thus, outlast even the most pious, wise, handsome, wealthy and strong priest one could find. But, again, what do we know about those sacrifices a priest performs? “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins (Hebrews 10:11).” Those sacrifices never take away sins. But, what does the Bible say about Jesus Christ? “But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 9:26).” The once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ took away sins for eternity. Therefore, because His priesthood is eternal and His sacrifice final, there is no need for Him or anybody else to perform daily sacrifices for sin. In general, there is no need for a priest because his job is no longer necessary. There is no need for sacrifices because the blood of Jesus took them away for eternity. Furthermore, there is no need for a temple to perform them in because Christians know that we are the true temple of God. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God (1 Corinthians 6:19)?” Apparently, those who still think priests are needed to perform sacrifices in a temple do not know that both the priest and the temple are no longer necessary because God has said, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:17-18).” The atonement that priests performed only covered our sins. However, the propitiating sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our High Priest, took away our sins. There is no need to pass along the earthy priesthood to the son of a priest who died because the Son of God, who died to take away our sins, rose from the dead and lives forever.