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Heaven itself.
It is evident that this priest could not be a minister of the earthly and typical
tabernacle. His peculiar separateness proclaims Him to be the minister of the true
tabernacle, "heaven itself". Therefore the apostle continues, "and made higher than the
heavens".
There is as much stress placed upon the "heavenly" character of the Lord's priesthood
as upon His sinlessness. It will be of service to note some of the statements of Scripture
under this head:--
"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed through the heavens, Jesus
the Son of God" (Heb. 4: 14).
"We have such an high priest, Who is set on the right hand of the throne of the
Majesty in the heavens" (Heb. 8: 1).
The heavenly priesthood of Christ receives its fullest exposition in chapters 8: & 9:,
and reaches its climax in 9: 24:--
"For Christ is not entered the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of
the true; but into HEAVEN ITSELF, now to appear in the presence of God for us."
The one offering once for all.
Before the apostle can proceed to the expansion of the subject of the heavenly
ministry of the Lord, it is necessary that one matter shall be dealt with, which if left
ambiguous might lead to deadly error. The earthly high priest not only offered up
sacrifice for the sins of the people, but he was obliged also to offer a sacrifice:--
"First for his own sins" (Heb. 5: 3; 7: 27).
Here we perceive a strong contrast, for the heavenly priest was "holy, harmless,
undefiled", and therefore needed no sacrifice for Himself. When He died, He died "the
JUST for the unjust", consequently:--
"He needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own
sins, and then for the people's, for this He did once, when He offered up Himself"
(Heb. 7: 27).
In seeking out the argument of this epistle the reader is called upon to exercise
continual watchfulness. We found that the consideration of the heavenly ministry of the
Lord was postponed, in order that the question of His one offering might be dealt with,
and now we shall find that the consideration of two features of that offering mentioned in
7: 27 is deferred until the heavenly ministry has been more fully opened up.
The two features that await exposition are:--
1. The fact that the Lord offered one sacrifice once for all.
2. The fact that He offered, not bulls and goats, but that He offered up Himself.