⁴ Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law …

Disqualified! Jesus Christ was ineligible, banned from being a priest in the earthly, Levitical sense. We saw back in 7:14 that the Levitical priesthood pulled men from the tribe of Levi, not the tribe of Judah, from which Jesus was descended. He was not born into the priestly line, as a descendent of Aaron, who was descended from Levi. But He was born into the kingly line, as a descendent of David, who was descended from Judah.

Now this is significant, because the Levites, particularly the priests, had the inside track to God, at least in the ceremonial worship patterns. They had the privilege and responsibility for bringing the people’s and their own sacrifices into the presence of God, as symbolized in the tabernacle, the Holy Place. There were plenty enough priests to take care of the Law’s requirement for sacrifice. There was no need for the Son of God to become a human priest in the Levitical order. What need would there be for God to become a man just so that He could join the Levitical priesthood and serve as a priest just like them? Such would not justify an act of such eternal proportions as the incarnation!

So, if Jesus was merely human, He could not have been a priest at all. It would have been absolutely impossible. But, as this whole section drips with new revelation, Jesus was a priest of a different sort.

There is, interestingly, no record of Jesus ever having entered the inner sanctuary, the Holy Place or the “Holy of Holies, the very inmost place. When the Scripture refers to Him entering the temple (e.g. Luke 19:45), He would have proceeded no further than the surrounding areas. This provides, perhaps, insight into the phenomenon of the veil of the temple (cordoning off the Most Holy Place) being torn in two, at the Lord’s crucifixion (Matt 27:51). Because of His death, we all, as redeemed believers, have access to the inner recesses of God’s presence, as it were. There is now no longer any barrier beyond which only the high priest could go, separating us from God. We all now have access – which is exactly the point that is repeated in the book of Hebrews!

So did Jesus perform any high priestly duties while on earth? Yes! We refer to John 17 as His “Highly Priestly” prayer, for He was clearly interceding on our behalf; He was mediating between us and His Father. His death was very clearly a priestly sacrifice which He offered up for our sins. But this was not Levitical in nature, but Melchizedekian.

Lord Jesus, thank You for being my high priest and bringing to Your Father the only sacrifice that could take away my sin. You are most worthy to be praised!