Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on this basis the people received the law), why was there still need for another priest to appear—one in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron?
Parallel translations
- WEB Now if there were perfection through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people have received the law), what further need was there for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
- KJV If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
- NKJV Therefore, 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?
- NASB So if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?
- NLT 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?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If the Levitical priesthood could have brought perfection, there would be no need for another priest after Melchizedek's order. The rise of a new priesthood proves the old one was insufficient.
Overview
The law and its priesthood could not bring people to the perfection of full access to God and cleansed consciences. The very promise of a priest after Melchizedek's order (Psalm 110:4) signals the inadequacy of the Aaronic system. This points to Christ as the better priest who accomplishes what the law could not.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Heb 8:7For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second.
- Gal 2:21I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing.
- Heb 7:17–19For it is testified: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
- Gal 4:9But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
- Heb 7:15And this point is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears,
- Heb 5:6And in another passage God says: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
- Heb 7:21but Jesus became a priest with an oath by the One who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’”
- Heb 8:10–13For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
- Col 2:10–17And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
- Heb 6:20where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
- Heb 5:10and was designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
- Gal 4:3So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.
- Heb 10:1–4For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
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Christ at the center
Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.
How Hebrews 7:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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