Jesus Is Better
The audience of Hebrews was — well, Hebrew. This means that they come from a faith tradition that emphasized Priests as the middle-men between God and humankind. In Jewish culture, priests were at the center of every person’s spiritual life. They would make sacrifices for you. They would pray on your behalf. They would walk you through religious ceremonies. This wasn’t bad; these religious leaders were devoted, loving, and passionate about helping people know God. Past priests were amazing spiritual leaders, but someone better has come.
Jesus came as the perfect priest.
The author of Hebrews elaborated, “The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 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” (7:23-25).
This passage is the core argument of the book of Hebrews. All of the previous discussion was building up to this point. As an ethnically and religiously Jewish congregation, they understood that priests were the solution to their sin sickness. Jesus stepped in as a priest who was completely free of sin. Thus, He was able to cleanse everyone — once and for all. There was no longer a need to present a lamb, make ritual sacrifices, or do anything to cover up your sin. Jesus took care of it all. He put death to death.
As a perfect priest, Jesus personally brings you closer to God.