Messiah is a Better Priest Than Aaron
5:1 to 7:28
The author will prove the priesthood of Jesus is superior to the Levitical priesthood by the use of five contrasts. The second contrast is that believers have a better Priest. The Priesthood of Yeshua is after the Order of Melchizedek, which is superior to the Order of Aaron. As he develops this argument, the author will interrupt this train of thought to give his readers the third (to see link click Ba– You Have Become Dull of Hearing), and fourth warnings (see Bb – Once Fallen Away, It is Impossible to be Brought Back to Repentance) to Jewish unbelievers in the first century.
Today, however, the Roman Church asserts that the pope is superior to the Order of Aaron. The New York Catechism says, “The pope takes the place of Jesus Christ on earth. By divine right the pope has supreme and full power in faith and morals over each and every pastor and his flock. He is the true Vicar (High Priest) of Christ, the head of the entire church, the father and teacher of all Christians. He is the infallible ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author of and the judge of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter of the world, the supreme judge of heaven and earth, the judge of all being judged by no one, God himself on earth.” Thus, the Roman Church holds that the pope, as the High Priest of Christ on earth, is the ruler of the world, supreme not only over the Roman Church itself but over all kings, presidents, and civil rulers, truly over all the peoples and nations of the world.
The triple crown the pope wears symbolizes his authority in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld – as king of heaven, king of the earth, and king of hell – in that though his absolutions souls are admitted to heaven, on the earth he attempts to exercise political as well as spiritual power, and through his special jurisdiction over the souls in purgatory and his exercise of “the power of the keys” (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Fx – On This Rock I Will Build My Church). He can release whatever souls he pleases from further suffering and those whom he refuses to release to continued suffering; the decisions he makes on earth are supposedly ratified in heaven. In his capacity as “head of the church,” seated in his papal chair, the Vatican Council of 1870 declared him to be infallible.
But the fallacy of this claim can easily be seen in the glaring contrast between Jesus and any pope. The pope wears, as a fitting symbol of the authority claimed by him, a jewel-laden, extremely expensive crown, while Christ had no earthly crown at all – except a crown of thorns that He wore on our behalf. The pope rides his “pope mobile,” while Yeshua walked everywhere He needed to go. The pope is adored with genuflections (a bowing of the knee in reverence), where the Bible says that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10). The pope lives in luxury with many servants in a huge palace in Vatican City, while Christ when on earth had nowhere to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). Many popes, particularly during the Middle Ages, were extremely immoral, while Christ was perfect in holiness. Messiah said: My Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), and refused to exercise worldly authority. But the pope is a worldly ruler, just like a little king, with his own country, his own system of courts, servants, coinage, postal service, and a Swiss military guard that serves in sixteenth century uniforms as a papal bodyguard. Kissing the popes foot began with Pope Constantine in 709 AD, while Yeshua Messiah washed the feet of His disciples (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Kh – Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet).
The fact is, that the early Messianic Community had no system of appointed priests on earth, to settle difficult legal questions as God (Deuteronomy 17:8-10, Second Chronicles 19:8-10). There was a doctrinal question at Antioch. What should the Messianic Community do to settle it? Should they write a letter to Peter asking for his decision? This would be the Roman position. But, no, they did not. Should they write a letter to the “college of Apostles?” No, they didn’t do that either. Rather, they sent representatives to meet in Yerushalayim where the apostles and elders came together to consider the matter (see the commentary on Acts Bs – The Counsel at Jerusalem). They considered it carefully with prayer and studying the Scriptures. Finally they decided on a policy, sent out a letter (see the commentary on Acts Bt – The Counsel’s Letter to the Gentile Believers), and expected the Messianic Community to submit to their decision (Acts 16:4). There was no primacy of Peter or anyone else. Instead there was a meeting of the ordained leaders of the Messianic Community judging matters according to God’s Word. This is the Scriptural answer to the Roman Catholic position that Peter was the first pope. Therefore, in the final analysis, Messiah is not only a better High Priest than Aaron, but also a better High Priest than the pope!126
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