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Review

Last time, we looked at the Hebrews writer’s note of encouragement to his brothers and sisters, in which he told of his hope for better things for them (and us) than he had spoken of in his warning that it is impossible for those who have tasted of the heavenly gift and then fall away from faith to be restored to repentance. He reminded his readers of the patience and persistent faith of Abraham to whom God had sworn an oath of promise, and encouraged them (and us) to remain steadfast as Abraham was – continually growing in our faith.

Jesus Our High Priest – Part 2

The writer now takes up once more the subject of Jesus’ role as our High Priest who continually makes intercession for the people before the throne of God. The writer first broached this subject near the end of Hebrews 4,  quoting Psalm 110:4, calling Jesus “a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek,” but quickly changed the subject, saying that his readers had become too “dull of hearing” for us to comprehend that statement. Having promised that he would have much to say on the topic, he now returns to it here at the end of Hebrews 6.

^6-19This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ²⁰where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

^7-1For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ²to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” ³without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

 

⁴Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. ⁵And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; ⁶but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. ⁸Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. ⁹Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, ¹⁰for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

 

¹¹Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? ¹²For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. ¹³For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.

 

¹⁴For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. ¹⁵And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest ¹⁶who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. ¹⁷For He testifies:

 

“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.” _{[Psalm 110:4]}

_{[Hebrews 6:19-7:17 – NKJV]}

There is certainly a great deal to consider in this meaty passage. Digesting it will require the full measure of our spiritual discernment, by the grace of God. The old bromide asks how one goes about eating an elephant, with the obvious answer, “one bite at a time.” So let’s begin.

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¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ²⁰where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. _{[Hebrews 6:19-20 – NKJV]}

Recall, from our previous study in Hebrews 6:7-18 we looked at the promise God made to Abraham which He sealed by an oath sworn by Himself, since there is none greater by whom God could swear. In summing up that discussion the Hebrews writer spoke of the strong consolation which we who have fled [to Jesus] for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us may ourselves also find in that promise God made to Abraham. The writer now expounds exactly what that hope set before us is – eternal life in Heaven with our Father and His Great High Priest – Jesus. Once again, we see the writer using symbolism which would certainly have struck a chord in the hearts of his Hebrew readers.

³¹“You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. ³²You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. ³³And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. ³⁴You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy. ³⁵You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand across from the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side. _{[Exodus 26:31-35 – NKJV]}

Aside – Hebrews 6:19 gives an opportunity to point out an important aspect of Bible study that disciples of Jesus should be on the lookout for. When a word is printed in italic typeface in many printed English translations of God’s Word, it can mean one of two things. Either the word, phrase, or passage in the italic font is a quotation from elsewhere in the Bible, or the word, phrase, or passage is not found in the original language (Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic) manuscripts. Most often, such words have been inserted by the translators in order for the translation to make grammatical sense in the target language, whereas the inserted words are not needed by the grammar of the original language. We find two examples of such inserted words here in the NKJV translation of Hebrews 6:19 – the word hope and the phrase the Presence. Obviously, such inserted words are required by the translators much more often in a word-by-word type of translation, such as the KJV or the NKJV, than they are in a concept-by-concept translation such as the NIV, or in a paraphrase/commentary, such as The Amplified Bible or the NLT. So the serious student of the Bible should keep a variety of translations on hand, or use an online tool that provides multiple translations, and be on the lookout for words and phrases inserted by the translators. Needless to say, I personally recommend using a word-by-word translation primarily.

Here in the NKJV rendering of Hebrews 6:19, the word hope has been inserted by the translators as a reminder that the verse is a continuation of the writer’s thought found in the previous verse about the hope of eternal life, which believers have in Christ. The phrase the Presence doesn’t occur in the original Greek. Nor is it strictly speaking required for the English translation to make grammatical sense. In fact, of the translations I had available for comparison, only the KJV and NKJV contain the phrase here in this verse. Nevertheless, I personally like the way the NKJV renders the verse, because it is a reminder that behind the dividing curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place in the Hebrew tabernacle and later in the temple of Solomon, was where the Ark of the Covenant was placed, and that when the Ark was put in this place, and properly consecrated in accordance with the Law of Moses, the very Presence of God descended on the place and rested on the Mercy Seat which covered the Ark.

³³And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.

³⁴Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. ³⁵And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. _{[Exodus 40:33-35 – NKJV]}

¹⁰And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, ¹¹so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. _{[1 Kings 8:10-11 – NKJV]}

The Ark, the tabernacle, and the temple were all only human constructions – albeit under instruction from God Almighty Himself by the word of Moses. The Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark notwithstanding, these articles had and have no power in and of themselves, except that they act as the symbols that God intended them to be, serving to remind us of our separation from the holiness of God through our sin. Indeed, the veil spoken of here in Hebrews 6:19 is truly symbolic of death itself – the wages of our sin, and the ultimate and final separation from God.

¹²Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— ¹³(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. ¹⁴Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. _{[Romans 3:12-14 – NKJV]}

²⁰But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ²³But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. _{[1 Corinthians 15:20-23 – NKJV]}

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. _{[John 11:25 – NKJV]}

⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

⁵¹Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, _{[Matthew 27:50-51 – NKJV]}

¹For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,²to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” ³without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. _{[Hebrews 7:1-3 – NKJV]}

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. _{[Genesis 14:18 – NKJV]}

⁸And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim ⁹against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains. ¹¹Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. ¹²They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

¹³Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. ¹⁴Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

¹⁷And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. _{[Genesis 14:8-17 – NKJV]}

¹⁴‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:

¹⁵‘In those days and at that time

I will cause to grow up to David

A Branch of righteousness;

He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.

¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved,

And Jerusalem will dwell safely.

And this is the name by which she will be called:

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’

¹⁷“For thus says the LORD: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ¹⁸nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.'” _{[Jeremiah 33:14-18 – NKJV]}