SESSION 7

Only Jesus SavesJesus is the only One able to save us.

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EVER WANTED TO TRADE SOMETHING OLD FOR SOMETHING NEW? PROBABLY. BUT HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO TRADE SOMETHING NEW FOR SOMETHING OLD? UNLESS YOU’RE AN ANTIQUE COLLECTOR, MOST OF US WOULDN’T EVEN CONSIDER SUCH A TRADE.

Imagine, then, a college student who drives a real clunker of a car. He’s had it since high school days. It gets him from point A to point B most of the time; but it drinks oil, laying down a smoke trail that’s probably visible from space. A bunch of unrepaired dents and rusted spots reveal the vehicle’s hard life and waning value.

Now suppose his parents buy him a brand new car to replace the clunker. It’s their gift to him. They even agree to take “Old Smoky” off his hands. Surely the young man would jump at the offer! So let’s imagine that he takes the keys, hugs his parents, and drives away in his new car. But then a month later he visits his parents, hands the keys back, and says, “It’s a dream car. But I’d like to trade back for my old clunker.” Does the word unthinkable come to mind?

The writer of Hebrews was stunned that his readers would consider retreating from New Testament faith in Christ to the Old Testament traditions encrusted in Judaism. What they needed to be shown was how unthinkable their drifting was, how perfect Jesus the eternal High Priest is, and how complete His ministry to believers is.

“SINCE JESUS IS OUR

HIGH PRIEST AND HE

NEVER GOES AWAY

AND HE NEVER

CHANGES, HE’S ABLE TO

SHEPHERD US ALL THE

WAY HOME TO GLORY.

NO OTHER PRIEST WILL

EVER BE NECESSARY.”

—David Jeremiah

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HEBREWS 7:23-28

23 Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office.

24 But because He remains forever, He holds His priesthood permanently.

25 Therefore, He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.

26 For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

27 He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself.

28 For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever.

Think About It

When the word “but”

appears in a sentence,

it usually sets up a

contrast between two

or more things. Find

the two instances

of the word in these

verses. Take note of

what is contrasted in

each instance.

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UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT

For the writer of Hebrews, Abraham was a case study of one whose faith and actions in Old Testament times pointed to Jesus’ superiority as the believer’s High Priest. God made a promise of descendants to Abraham and guaranteed it with an oath. Abraham found that God kept His promise. God made a promise that Jesus’ ministry as High Priest would be similar in type to that of the Old Testament priest •Melchizedek (see 6:13-20).

The writer went into rich detail as he explained the ways that the ministry of Melchizedek foreshadowed Jesus’ ministry as High Priest for believers (see 7:1-10). Drawing from Genesis 14:18-20 and Psalm 110:4, the writer described Melchizedek as a priest of God Most High. He was also the king of Salem, a name meaning “peace.”

Scripture provides no genealogy for Melchizedek, and for this reason he foreshadowed the eternal nature of Jesus. In addition, Abraham gave a tithe offering to God through Melchizedek, an act that preceded the Levitical priesthood by hundreds of years. Thus, Melchizedek represented a prior and superior priesthood to that represented in Judaism. He foreshadowed the ministry of Jesus as Great High Priest. Thus for a believing Jew to return to Judaism was to go back to an inferior priesthood.

The writer then made a carefully reasoned argument concerning the uniqueness and superiority of Jesus’ ministry as High Priest (see 7:11-28). Similar to the ministry of Melchizedek, Jesus’ ministry as High Priest wasn’t based on the law of Moses but on the power of an indestructible life. Therefore, Jesus established in Himself a new and better covenant. He is the Great High Priest to which the law of Moses could only point.

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EXPLORE THE TEXT

A PERMANENT PRIEST (Hebrews 7:23-24)

The writer of Hebrews sought to describe Jesus as Great High Priest. In verse 23, he continued by explaining that Jesus was superior to the Levitical priests. They had their beginning with Aaron, Moses’ brother. When the Israelites were camped at Mount Sinai, God appointed Aaron to be the first priest (see Exodus 28:1). After Aaron died, his son, Eleazar, replaced him and became the next priest over Israel (see Deuteronomy 10:6). The priesthood continued throughout Old Testament times and was still in existence during the time of the New Testament. Each of the priests shared the same human limitation. Being a high priest did not protect a person from facing death. When a priest died, the ministry passed to someone else.

How would you describe the limits faced by a Jewish priest? How does each limit point to the need for a better priest?

In contrast to the Levitical priests who served and died, Jesus stood alone, and for an important reason. Jesus Christ is eternal. That uniqueness made Him superior to any earthly high priest. Jesus would never have to allow His priesthood to be passed on to anyone else.

For Christians today, the certainty of Jesus’ unending relationship with us as our eternal High Priest gives us the rich assurance of His never-ending ministry in our lives. When we study God’s Word, He will make Himself known in the pages of Scripture. We can turn to Him for help through tough times brought on by opposition to the gospel or by our weakness against temptation. When we think about the future, we don’t need to be afraid, because we live in the certainty that He’ll be there as well. He’ll never be absent, and He’ll never be replaced.

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When you think about Jesus as your Great High Priest, what assurance does that reality give you?

ABLE TO SAVE (Hebrews 7:25)

With his confident assertions about Jesus, the writer of Hebrews gives us a striking declaration. Jesus stands out as our eternal High Priest. Therefore, we can always live in complete confidence that the way to a right relationship with God will never change. No matter how many centuries pass or how many shifts in culture take place, Jesus will always stand alone as the centerpiece of the gospel. He will never be removed from His place of prominence because He alone has the power to give the gift of eternal life. Because He died on the cross and rose from the dead to live eternally, He’s able to save anyone who turns to Him.

When we think about being saved, we benefit from the big picture. That’s the only way we can see how far and wide His salvation extends in our lives. To be saved means that we’ve received God’s gift of salvation and have been rescued from the bondage of sin. We welcomed Christ into our lives when we repented of our sins and placed our complete faith in Him. When He gave us new life, He changed everything for us. Through Him, we began a personal walk of faith with God.

Being saved also means growing in our relationship with God. We never lose sight of the sublime reality that He loves us as His children. Because He loves us, He guides us to grasp His purpose and empowers us to live it out for His glory. Doing so gives us unparalleled contentment in Him.

Being saved also has a future dimension. It means that we look forward to being in heaven one day with God and with all believers.

Key Doctrine: Our Substitute

Jesus honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of people from sin.

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We can’t earn a home in heaven by our works. Jesus is preparing that place for those who trust in Him (see John 14:1-3). Therefore, we can rest assured that heaven will be our eternal home.

All of these blessings of salvation come our way as Christians because Jesus lives eternally to intercede for us. He is seated at the right hand of the Heavenly Father. He forever advocates for believers on the basis of His sinless life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection. He has done everything necessary to satisfy God’s wrath against sin, to break sin’s curse on humanity, and to provide the way of salvation.

As Christ lives in us as believers through the Holy Spirit, He provides everything we need so that we can grow into spiritually mature followers. We never have to wonder if someone or something else still needs to come along and advocate for our salvation. Christ intercedes for us perfectly and eternally today, tomorrow, and forever.

Do you view Jesus’ being the only way of salvation as limiting or freeing? Explain.

BECAUSE OF HIS CHARACTER

(Hebrews 7:26-28)

Jesus meets every need in our relationship with God because He stands alone as our Great High Priest. His unique qualifications place Him high above anything or anyone else who might attempt to fulfill that role. He is holy, completely unique. There’s no one like Him, because He’s perfectly righteous.

Although He identified with us by taking on human nature, He’s different from us in that He never sinned. He lived in the flesh for a short time, but now He is in heaven, having ascended from the earth after His resurrection (see Acts 1:9). He was and is exalted forever.

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In your own words, how would you declare that Jesus is the High Priest you need?

Jesus doesn’t need to make any more sacrifices. God required earthly priests to offer sacrifices for their own sins before they could offer sacrifices for others’ sins (see Leviticus 4:3; 16:6). However, by laying down His life for us on the cross, Jesus provided the perfect sin-sacrifice once and for all.

In what ways can you express gratitude to Christ for giving Himself as the sacrifice to secure your salvation?

The writer of Hebrews concluded by making a comparison between the law and God’s promise. A law might be repealed or changed, but an oath of promise could never be erased or altered. The contrast between the law’s requirement and God’s promise draws believers to a rock-solid certainty. Instead of being mortal like earthly priests, Jesus lives eternally. He will never die.

How would you explain to a friend that only Jesus is qualified to provide salvation?

Bible Skill: Create a compare/contrast chart to study a passage.

In the space below, list words and phrases that describe earthly priests. Then list words and phrases that describe Jesus as High Priest. Use the lists to study Hebrews 7:11-28.

EARTHLY PRIESTS

JESUS THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST

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OBEY THE TEXT

Only Jesus is qualified to save sinners from sin, death, and hell. Since salvation is based on Jesus’ sinless life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection, those who believe in Him can live faithfully and share the gospel with confidence.

In what or whom are you trusting your life? Spend time this week examining your answer to this question. If you’ve never embraced Christ’s salvation, ask your Bible study leader or someone in your group about how you can experience it today.

With whom have you shared the gospel recently? How can you use this week’s study to tell someone about salvation in Jesus?

List your biggest fears about sharing Jesus with others. What actions can you take this week to overcome these fears?

Therefore, He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them. — Hebrews 7:25

MEMORIZE

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Use the space provided to make observations and record prayer requests during the group experience for this session.

MY THOUGHTSRecord insights gained and questions to discuss during the group experience.

MY PRAYERSList specific prayer needs and answers to remember this week.

MY MISSIONAcknowledge ways you will obey God’s Word this week.

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