Study Desk

And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was.

That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father."

And in another passage God said to him, "You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek."

While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.

In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.

And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don't need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.

And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.

who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—

and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.

For example, there was God's promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:

Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind.

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.

This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him.

There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.

But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God.

So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?

For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.