Hebrews 7:9-11 - The need for another priest

7:9,10

These verse most definitely reflect a Jewish way of thinking. I guess that not many of us are actually particularly impressed with the argument here, but a first century Jew would have been, and it fits with rabbinical ways of thinking and arguing. So what the writer is saying is that Abraham was effectively representing all Jews, including the Levites. So the Levites effectively gave tithes to Melchizedek, therefore Melchizedek is definitely greater than the Levites. This is an example of the idea of federal headship, and this concept can be applied to the doctrine of original sin.

7:11

It is assumed by the writer that “perfection” is the goal, and this view would have been shared by his hearers, and by Jewish religious leaders. Moreover, the failure, indeed inability, of the Law to provide perfection will pervade much of the succeeding chapters. Perfection is the goal, the Law failed to provide this. The converse is that Jesus and the gospel do provide perfection (I am not talking about sinless perfectionism here!). Why does he say “through the Levitical priesthood”? What he means is that the sacrifices and other ritual acts of the Law could not grant perfection. A feature of the Law is that anything offered to God had to be perfect. We are all, by nature, sinners, and so imperfect. Therefore on our own merits we are unacceptable to God. The sacrifices covered, to some degree, the sins of the people, but they could not really make someone perfect, not make them truly acceptable to God.

The writer’s argument is that the existence of a second priesthood, the Melchizedek priesthood, is proof that God never intended the Levitical priesthood to provide perfection, it was only pointing towards the true priesthood that Jesus would provide.