| Jewish High Priests and Sacrifices |
Jesus as High Priest and Perfect Sacrifice |
| are called by God, chosen from among mortals,
like Aaron was (5:1, 4) |
was appointed high priest by God, as God's own
Son (4:14; 5:5) |
| can be compassionate with people, since they too
are weak and sinful (5:2) |
can sympathize with human weakness, since he was
tempted/tested as we are, although without sinning himself (4:15) |
| offer sacrifices for their own sins as well as
those of others (5:3; 7:27-28; 9:7, 9) |
offers sacrifices and prayers only for others,
not for himself, since he is sinless and perfect (5:15; 7:2628; 9:14) |
| are priests in the order of Aaron, from the tribe
of Levi (5:4; 7:11) |
is a priest forever, "according to the order
of Melchizedek" (5:6; 6:20; 7:3, 17, 24) |
| have an imperfect priesthood (levitical), inferior
to Melchizedek's (7:1-11) |
is a priest of a new order (Melchizedek's) that
replaces the levitical (7:11-19) |
| take office without an oath (7:20) |
has his priesthood confirmed with an oath from
God (7:21; cf. Ps 110:4) |
| all eventually die, so there must be many priests
and high priests (7:23) |
is the only permanent high priest, since he lives
forever (7:16-17, 24-25) |
| offer sacrifices day after day, year after year
(7:27; 9:6; 10:1, 11) |
offered himself as a sacrifice once for all time
(7:27; 9:12, 14, 26; 10:10, 14) |
| hold office on earth, according to the law (8:4) |
has passed through the heavens, and is seated by
God's throne ( 8:1; cf. 4:14) |
| worship in an earthly sanctuary, a mere shadow
of the heavenly one (8:5; 9:1) |
ministers in the heavenly tabernacle set up by
God, not mortals (8:2, 9:11, 24) |
| follow the first covenant, the old covenant, given
through Moses (8:7, 9) |
is the "mediator of a better covenant,"
a new covenant (8:6-13; 9:15-28) |
| enter the innermost "Holy of Holies"
once a year (9:7) |
enters only once into the greater and perfect tabernacle
(9:11-28; 10:10) |
| offer the blood of goats and calves (9:7, 13, 19,
25) |
offers his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption
(9:12; 10:19) |
| their sacrifices are imperfect, since they are
animals (9:23; 10:4) |
his sacrifice is perfect, since he is perfect/sinless
(7:26, 28; 9:14) |
Most of this book seems like a theological treatise, with heavy use
of biblical quotations and interpretations but with only a few scattered words of
exhortation. In contrast, the last two chapters are filled with explicit exhortations
directed at the Christian readers:
