Suppose you appeal to a high official about a personal problem which others are unable or unwilling to help resolve. You are relieved when this wise and compassionate official agrees to help. But what would happen if he were to suddenly die? You would have lost your patron and advocate. You would return to your original helpless situation. This passage reminds readers that the old Levitical priesthood had to do with a continuous stream of mortal priests who, like the hymn ″O God, Our Help in Ages Past″ (sixth and seventh stanzas) says, are taken away by time, one after the other. No one priest had continued in priestly office beyond his limited lifetime.

But Jesus is absolutely different. The priesthood of Jesus is superior to any other priesthood because it comes with a divine guarantee and oath. Secondly, it is a ″permanent priesthood″ (Hebrews 7:24). He died-yes, for our sins, and He rose from the dead; He now lives for ever. He therefore has a permanent priesthood; He is for ever our priest. Whatever He has promised will not be abandoned because He will never die. This has significant results in our lives, for He ″is able to save completely those who come to God through him″ (Hebrews 7:25). As our High Priest, He ″lives to intercede″ for us (v. 25) at the Father's right hand (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 8:1). We have some idea of how He does this by examining His High Priestly Prayer in John 17. The Bible says that He is our Advocate in heaven, appealing on our behalf. His intercession for us is ongoing, having redeemed us from our sins, He, together with the Holy Spirit, will continue to make us grow in Christlikeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). We know that what He has begun will be brought to perfect completion on His day (Philippians 1:6). We know that in Christ we will be presented before God ″without fault and with great joy″ (Jude 24).

How wonderful it is that we have an eternal Advocate who will never vacate His office. He will be in His priestly office for ever. Whatever He has promised us, He is capable of carrying out fully. We should therefore worship Him with gratitude, knowing that we have an assurance that can never be taken away from us.