Jesus Christ is Better

Jesus once said this: “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

He wasn’t giving lessons on sewing or on making wine. His point was that you can’t take what is inherently part of the old and mix into what is new. This is basically what the book of Hebrews tells us. Jesus came to offer something new and superior to the old.

In our last message, we looked at verses 1-10 of Hebrews 7, and we saw that the author’s point was simply that Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. And since Abraham is greater than his descendant Levi, then we know that Melchizedek is also greater than Levi.

The greatness of Melchizedek over Abraham and Levi was demonstrated in four ways. First, we had the evidence of royalty. Abraham and Levi were not kings, but Melchizedek was. He was a king of righteousness and a king of peace.

Second, there was the evidence of genealogy. Levitical priesthood relied on a man’s genealogy, sometimes even regardless of the man’s character. But Melchizedek’s priesthood superseded that. It wasn’t automatically granted based on genealogy. It was gifted to him by God.

Number 3, there was the evidence of the tithe. Abraham and, by extension, Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek. They showed honor to him.

So, there was the evidence of royalty, the evidence of genealogy, the evidence of the tithe, and lastly, the evidence of blessings. Abraham received a blessing from Melchizedek. Giving a blessing was an expression of superiority.

So, since Melchizedek is greater than Abraham and Levi, that also means that Melchizedek’s priesthood, as mysterious as it might be, is greater than the priesthood of Levi. And since Jesus the Messiah, according to Psalm 110, has been declared as “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek,” then Christ’s priesthood is greater than the Levitical system. Something new has come. Something better is here.

The Apostle Paul talks about the superior New Covenant in 2 Corinthians 3. He calls the Old Covenant a “ministry of death” and “the ministry of condemnation." And he goes on to say, “The ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.”

I first got a smart phone in 2020, just in time for the digital communication boom tied to that COVID season. I didn’t intend to get it, and I didn’t even buy it for myself. A group of guys purchased the phone on my behalf so that I would come into the surpassing glory of what is new.

We understand the idea of a surpassing glory, don’t we? That’s why many things are obsolete. People don’t use them anymore. And if you take your phone out at noon on a bright sunny day, you also recognize that the glory of the sun is far greater than a smartphone.

So, in what ways is the glory of the New Covenant of Jesus Christ greater than the glory of the Old Covenant through the Law of Moses and the Levitical priesthood. I’ve got four answers to that based on the contrasts we see at the end of Hebrews 7.

Number 1, we see a contrast of completion.

The contrast of completion

The Old Covenant was incomplete, or imperfect. The New Covenant is complete.

I don’t mean to say that every single aspect of the New Covenant has been fulfilled already, but I’m saying that once the New Covenant is fully enacted, there will be nothing left, nothing lacking. The New Covenant is the entire package of God for His people.

Look at verse 11. It’s a rhetorical question making this exact point—Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?

Why is there a priesthood outside Aaron? Because the Aaronic priesthood is incomplete. It did not make perfection attainable.

The eternal questions that every religion or worldview seeks to answer are: Is there a God? Can we know Him? What is He like? Do we measure up to His standard? And, if not, how can we fix that situation?

Well, the Bible tells us that there is a God. And He has revealed Himself to us. He is holy and perfect, and we, as sinners, deserve His righteous judgment. And the only way that gets fixed is with a sacrifice. Our sin deserves death, and so there must be death.

The Jewish priesthood taught the people about this reality in a graphic way. An animal was killed every time. Blood was spilled. But all those sacrifices were not the real solution. That’s why there needed to be a new priesthood and a new law. They just pointed to it. They were pointing to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross under the judgment of God.

Hebrews 7 gives us a second contrast between the Old and New Covenant. The first was a contrast of perfection. Second, we have a contrast of tribe.

The contrast of tribe

The Old Covenant priests came in the line of Levi. The New Covenant priest is from the line of Judah. Look at verses 12-14—For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. [13] For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. [14] For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

If Jesus had come in the line of Levi, the Jews might have confused that with the old system. But Jesus came in the tribe of Judah. If it wasn’t His tribe that earned Jesus His priestly role, what was the basis then? Verse 15—This [change in the law] becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, [16] who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.

Jesus was declared a high priest in connection to the power of His Resurrection. His Resurrection was an expression of His power over death and His eternal life. And that eternal life corresponds to His eternal and perfect priesthood.

Jesus was declared as a high priest by God Himself, which is why verse 17 quotes again from Psalm 110—You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.

Again, a switch has taken place. There is a new law in effect. There is a new priesthood.

Verse 18 continues—For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness [19] (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

This gives us a third distinction between the Old and New Covenant, a third contrast, which is the contrast of nearness.

The contrast of nearness

The end of verse 19 said that we have a better hope, and through that hope, we draw near to God. In the Old Covenant, people had an understanding of God and of sin and sacrifice. But God was still distant. The only person allowed to enter into the presence of God was the high priest, and only one day out of the year.

The Old Covenant taught people about God through symbols and rituals and commands. But in the New Covenant, God has, in Jesus Christ, come down to earth. And after Jesus ascended, He sent His Spirit to dwell in His people. Jesus said that is to our advantage. God dwells in us.

We need to be careful that we never take this for granted. On the one hand, some Christians live in fear, thinking that God hates them and wants nothing to do with them other than judgment. On the other hand, there are Christians who live as if God owes them something. They’re so great, in their own opinion. They think God wants to hear them simply because of who they are.

Both of those positions are wrong. God loves us. God hears us. God draws near to us. But it’s not because of who you are intrinsically. It’s because of your high priest. You need a priest to grant you access to God. Don’t take that for granted. But our priest is not a man sitting in Rome or even some preacher on a Sunday.

Our priest is Jesus Christ Himself who has been granted that status by God the Father with an oath. And so, verse 22 says—This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

A fourth and final contrast between the old and the new covenants is the contrast of number.

The contrast of number

The old system was marked by many priests and many sacrifices. The new covenant has only one. Verse 23—The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, [24] but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. [25] Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

This nation changes its presidency potentially every 4 years. And no matter which side wins, you get a lot of disappointed people. Neither side stays in power forever. Both sides see some of their work undone when a new system comes to power.

It’s kind of like finding out your favorite restaurant is changing owners. The quality might suffer. The decor might change. It might stop being your favorite restaurant.

By its nature, change produces an element of uncertainty. But with Jesus we have no change. He is priest forever, and He will complete all that He started. He perfectly intercedes for us. We don’t need anything or anyone else to go to God on our behalf.

He will save us to the uttermost. We are saved forever, to the very end. It’s a complete salvation, a perfect salvation.

Christ is unlike any priest that had come in the Old Covenant. Look at how verse 26 describes Him—For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

And then verse 27 continues—He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. [28] For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

We only need one priest, and we only need one sacrifice. His sacrifice was once for all—for all time and for all who would come to Him. He is our priest chosen by God, sacrificed for our sins, and raised to glory.

In just a moment, we are going to partake of the Lord’s Supper together, and it’s so important to remember that we are not performing a work that gains or maintains the favor of God upon us. We are not re-creating the sacrifice of Christ. We are commemorating His once-for-all sacrifice which took away our sins, and which He offers to the world. Your sins will be forgiven, if you trust in Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray, and then prepare our hearts for the supper.