Beginning

The Priest Melchizedek

7 Melchizedek was the king of Salem and a priest for God the Most High. He met Abraham when Abraham was coming back after defeating the kings. That day Melchizedek blessed him. ² Then Abraham gave him a tenth of everything he had.

The name Melchizedek, king of Salem, has two meanings. First, Melchizedek means “king of justice.” And “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” ³ No one knows who his father or mother was or where he came from.^[a] And no one knows when he was born or when he died. Melchizedek is like the Son of God in that he will always be a priest.

⁴ You can see that Melchizedek was very great. Abraham, our great ancestor, gave him a tenth of everything he won in battle. ⁵ Now the law says that those from the tribe of Levi who become priests must get a tenth from their own people, even though they and their people are both from the family of Abraham. ⁶ Melchizedek was not even from the tribe of Levi, but Abraham gave him a tenth of what he had. And Melchizedek blessed Abraham—the one who had God’s promises. ⁷ And everyone knows that the more important person always blesses the less important person.

⁸ Those priests get a tenth, but they are only men who live and then die. But Melchizedek, who got a tenth from Abraham, continues to live, as the Scriptures say. ⁹ Now those from the family of Levi are the ones who get a tenth from the people. But we can say that when Abraham paid Melchizedek a tenth, then Levi also paid it. ¹⁰ Levi was not yet born, but he already existed in his ancestor Abraham when Melchizedek met him.

¹¹ The people were given the law under the system of priests from the tribe of Levi. But no one could be made spiritually perfect through that system of priests. So there was a need for another priest to come. I mean a priest like Melchizedek, not Aaron. ¹² And when a different kind of priest comes, then the law must be changed too. ^13-14 We are talking about our Lord Christ, who belonged to a different tribe. No one from that tribe ever served as a priest at the altar. It is clear that Christ came from the tribe of Judah. And Moses said nothing about priests belonging to that tribe.

Jesus Is a Priest Like Melchizedek

¹⁵ And these things become even clearer when we see that another priest has come who is like Melchizedek. ¹⁶ He was made a priest, but not because he met the requirement of being born into the right family. He became a priest by the power of a life that will never end. ¹⁷ This is what the Scriptures say about him: “You are a priest forever—the kind of priest Melchizedek was.”^[b]

¹⁸ The old rule is now ended because it was weak and worthless. ¹⁹ The Law of Moses could not make anything perfect. But now a better hope has been given to us. And with that hope we can come near to God.

²⁰ Also, it is important that God made a promise with an oath when he made Jesus high priest. When those other men became priests, there was no oath. ²¹ But Christ became a priest with God’s oath. God said to him,

²² So this means that Jesus is the guarantee of a better agreement from God to his people.

²³ Also, when one of those other priests died, he could not continue being a priest. So there were many of those priests. ²⁴ But Jesus lives forever. He will never stop serving as a priest. ²⁵ So Christ can save those who come to God through him. Christ can do this forever, because he always lives and is ready to help people when they come before God.

²⁶ So Jesus is the kind of high priest we need. He is holy. He has no sin in him. He is pure and not influenced by sinners. And he is raised above the heavens. ²⁷ He is not like those other priests. They had to offer sacrifices every day, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus doesn’t need to do that. He offered only one sacrifice for all time. He offered himself. ²⁸ The law chooses high priests who are men and have the same weaknesses that all people have. But after the law, God spoke the oath that made his Son high priest. And that Son, made perfect through suffering, will serve forever.

Jesus Our High Priest

8 Here is the point of what we are saying: We have a high priest like that, who sits on the right side^[c] of God’s throne in heaven. ² Our high priest serves in the Most Holy Place.^[d] He serves in the true place of worship^[e] that was made by God, not by anyone here on earth.

³ Every high priest has the work of offering gifts and sacrifices to God. So our high priest must also offer something to God. ⁴ If our high priest were now living on earth, he would not be a priest. I say this because there are already priests here who follow the law by offering gifts to God. ⁵ The work that these priests do is really only a copy and a shadow of what is in heaven. That is why God warned Moses when he was ready to build the Holy Tent: “Be sure to make everything exactly like the pattern I showed you on the mountain.”^{[f] 6} But the work that has been given to Jesus is much greater than the work that was given to those priests. In the same way, the new agreement that Jesus brought from God to his people is much greater than the old one. And the new agreement is based on better promises.

⁷ If there was nothing wrong with the first agreement, then there would be no need for a second agreement. ⁸ But God found something wrong with the people. He said,

¹³ God called this a new agreement, so he has made the first agreement old. And anything that is old and useless is ready to disappear.

Worship Under the Old Agreement

9 The first agreement had rules for worship and a place for worship here on earth. ² This place was inside a tent. The first area in the tent was called the Holy Place. In the Holy Place were the lamp and the table with the special bread offered to God. ³ Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place. ⁴ In the Most Holy Place was a golden altar for burning incense. And also there was the Box of the Agreement. The Box was covered with gold. Inside this Box was a golden jar of manna and Aaron’s rod—the rod that once grew leaves. Also in the Box were the flat stones with the Ten Commandments of the old agreement on them. ⁵ Above the Box were the Cherub angels that showed God’s glory. These Cherub angels were over the place of mercy.^[g] But we cannot say everything about this now.

⁶ Everything in the tent was made ready in the way I have explained. Then the priests went into the first room every day to do their worship duties. ⁷ But only the high priest could go into the second room, and he went in only once a year. Also, he could never enter that room without taking blood with him. He offered that blood to God for himself and for the sins the people committed without knowing they were sinning.

⁸ The Holy Spirit uses those two separate rooms to teach us that the way into the Most Holy Place^[h] was not open while the first room was still there. ⁹ This is an example for us today. It shows that the gifts and sacrifices the priests offer to God are not able to make the consciences of the worshipers completely clear. ¹⁰ These gifts and sacrifices are only about food and drink and special washings. They are only rules about the body. God gave them for his people to follow until the time of his new way.

Worship Under the New Agreement

¹¹ But Christ has already come to be the high priest. He is the high priest of the good things we now have. But Christ does not serve in a place like the tent that those other priests served in. He serves in a better place. Unlike that tent, this one is perfect. It was not made by anyone here on earth. It does not belong to this world. ¹² Christ entered the Most Holy Place only one time—enough for all time. He entered the Most Holy Place by using his own blood, not the blood of goats or young bulls. He entered there and made us free from sin forever.

¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a cow were sprinkled on those who were no longer pure enough to enter the place of worship. The blood and ashes made them pure again—but only their bodies. ¹⁴ So surely the blood sacrifice of Christ can do much more. Christ offered himself through the eternal Spirit^[i] as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make us completely clean from the evil we have done. It will give us clear consciences so that we can worship the living God.

¹⁵ So Christ brings a new agreement from God to his people. He brings this agreement so that those who are chosen by God can have the blessings God promised, blessings that last forever. This can happen only because Christ died to free people from sins committed against the commands of the first agreement.

¹⁶ When someone dies and leaves a will, there must be proof that the one who wrote the will is dead. ¹⁷ A will means nothing while the one who wrote it is still living. It can be used only after that person’s death. ¹⁸ That is why blood was needed to begin the first agreement between God and his people. ¹⁹ First, Moses told the people every command in the law. Then he took the blood of young bulls and mixed it with water. He used red wool and a branch of hyssop to sprinkle the blood and water on the book of the law and on all the people. ²⁰ Then he said, “This is the blood that makes the agreement good—the agreement that God commanded you to follow.”^{[j] 21} In the same way, Moses sprinkled the blood on the Holy Tent. He sprinkled the blood over everything used in worship. ²² The law says that almost everything must be made clean by blood. Sins cannot be forgiven without a blood sacrifice.

Jesus Christ Is Our Sacrifice for Sin

²³ These things are copies of the real things that are in heaven. These copies had to be made clean by animal sacrifices. But the real things in heaven must have much better sacrifices. ²⁴ Christ went into the Most Holy Place. But it was not the man-made one, which is only a copy of the real one. He went into heaven, and he is there now before God to help us.

²⁵ The high priest enters the Most Holy Place once every year. He takes with him blood to offer. But he does not offer his own blood like Christ did. Christ went into heaven, but not to offer himself many times like the high priest offers blood again and again. ²⁶ If Christ had offered himself many times, he would have needed to suffer many times since the time the world was made. But he came to offer himself only once. And that once is enough for all time. He came at a time when the world is nearing an end. He came to take away all sin by offering himself as a sacrifice.

²⁷ Everyone must die once. Then they are judged. ²⁸ So Christ was offered as a sacrifice one time to take away the sins of many people. And he will come a second time, but not to offer himself for sin. He will come the second time to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Jesus Christ—the Only Sacrifice We Need

10 The law gave us only an unclear picture of the good things coming in the future. The law is not a perfect picture of the real things. The law tells people to offer the same sacrifices every year. Those who come to worship God continue to offer those sacrifices. But the law can never make them perfect. ² If the law could make people perfect, those sacrifices would have already stopped. They would already be clean from their sins, and they would not still feel guilty. ³ But that’s not what happens. Their sacrifices make them remember their sins every year, ⁴ because it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵ So when Christ came into the world he said,

⁸ Christ first said, “You don’t want sacrifices and offerings. You are not pleased with animals killed and burned or with sacrifices to take away sin.” (These are all sacrifices that the law commands.) ⁹ Then he said, “Here I am, God. I have come to do what you want.” So God ends that first system of sacrifices and starts his new way. ¹⁰ Jesus Christ did the things God wanted him to do. And because of that, we are made holy through the sacrifice of Christ’s body. Christ made that sacrifice one time—enough for all time.

¹¹ Every day the priests stand and do their religious service. Again and again they offer the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But Christ offered only one sacrifice for sins, and that sacrifice is good for all time. Then he sat down at the right side of God. ¹³ And now Christ waits there for his enemies to be put under his power.^{[k] 14} With one sacrifice Christ made his people perfect forever. They are the ones who are being made holy.

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also tells us about this. First he says,

¹⁷ Then he says,

¹⁸ And after everything is forgiven, there is no more need for a sacrifice to pay for sins.

Come Near to God

¹⁹ And so, brothers and sisters, we are completely free to enter the Most Holy Place.^[m] We can do this without fear because of the blood sacrifice of Jesus. ²⁰ We enter through a new way that Jesus opened for us. It is a living way that leads through the curtain—Christ’s body. ²¹ And we have a great priest who rules the house of God. ²² Sprinkled with the blood of Christ, our hearts have been made free from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. So come near to God with a sincere heart, full of confidence because of our faith in Christ. ²³ We must hold on to the hope we have, never hesitating to tell people about it. We can trust God to do what he promised.

Help Each Other Be Strong

²⁴ We should think about each other to see how we can encourage each other to show love and do good works. ²⁵ We must not quit meeting together, as some are doing. No, we need to keep on encouraging each other. This becomes more and more important as you see the Day getting closer.

Don’t Turn Away From God’s Son

²⁶ If we decide to continue sinning after we have learned the truth, then there is no other sacrifice that will take away sins. ²⁷ If we continue sinning, all that is left for us is a fearful time of waiting for the judgment and the angry fire that will destroy those who live against God. ²⁸ Whoever refused to obey the Law of Moses was found guilty from the testimony given by two or three witnesses. Such people were not forgiven. They were killed. ²⁹ So think how much more punishment people deserve who show their hate for the Son of God—people who show they have no respect for the blood sacrifice that began the new agreement and once made them holy or who insult the Spirit of God’s grace. ³⁰ We know that God said, “I will punish people for the wrongs they do; I will repay them.”^[n] And he also said, “The Lord will judge his people.”^{[o] 31} It is a terrible thing to face punishment from the living God.

Keep the Courage and Patience You Had

³² Remember the days when you first learned the truth. You had a hard struggle with much suffering, but you continued strong. ³³ Sometimes people said hateful things to you and mistreated you in public. And sometimes you helped others who were being treated that same way. ³⁴ Yes, you helped them in prison and shared in their suffering. And you were still happy when everything you owned was taken away from you. You continued to be happy, because you knew that you had something much better—something that would continue forever.

³⁵ So don’t lose the courage that you had in the past. Your courage will be rewarded richly. ³⁶ You must be patient. After you have done what God wants, you will get what he promised you. ³⁷ He says,

³⁹ But we are not those who turn back and are lost. No, we are the people who have faith and are saved.