Christ Set Forth, Book V: Intercession the Most Excellent Part of Christ's Priesthood
The first head explained by two things. First Intercession one part of Christ’s I’riesthood, and the most excellent part of it.
TOWARDS the explanation of the first of these, two things are to be done.
First, to shew how great, and necessary, and how excellent a part of Christ’s Priesthood, his Inter cession, and praying for us in heaven is.
Secondly, to shew the peculiar influence, that Intercession hath into our salvation; and so the reasons for which God ordained this work of Inter cession for us, and that in heaven, to be added to all the former.
For the first, I will proceed therein by degrees.
I. It is one part of his Priesthood. You must know, that Christ is not entered into heaven simply, as a fore’-runner (which hath been explained) to take up places for you, but as a Priest also; made a Priest, after the order of Melchisedec; which is more than simply a fore-runner. Yea, his sitting at God’s right hand is not only as a King armed with power and authority to save us; but he sits there as a Priest too: thus Heb. viii. 1, We have such an High Priest who is set down at the right hand of the majesty on high.
In the old Levitical Priesthood, the High Priest’s office had two parts, both which concurred to make them High Priests.
1. Oblation, or offering the sacrifice.
2. Presentation of it in the Holy of Holies, with prayer and intercession unto God, to accept it for the sins of the people. The one was done without, the other within the Holy of Holies. This you may see in many places; especially Lev. xvi. 11, 15, 16, where you have the law about the High Priest’s entering into the Holy of Holies; lie was not to come into the holy place, till first he had offered a sacrifice lor himself and the people, and this without, verses 1 L and 15. Then secondly, when he had killed it, he was to enter with the blood of it into the Holy of Holies, and sprinkle the mercy-seat therein with it, ver. 14, 17, and to go with incense, and cause a cloud to arise over the mercy-seat: and this you have also Heb. xiii. 11, it is said, that The blood of those beasts that were burnt without the camp, was brought into the sanctuary by the High Priest: and in that xvi. Lev. you shall find the atonement made as well by the blood, when brought into the holy place, ver. 16, as by the killing of the beast, ver. 1 1. Both these were acts of the high priesthood for atonement.
And this was done in a type of the Priestly office of Christ, and the parts thereof; so Heb. ix. 23, he calls all those transactions under the ceremonial law, the patterns of things heavenly; instancing in this part of Christ’s office, ver. 24. For Christ, says he, is not entered into the holy places made with hands, (as that was) which arc the Jigures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Now then in answer to this type, there are two distinct parts of Christ’s Priesthood.
1. The offering himself a sacrifice up to death, as Heb. ix. 20, which answers to the killing of the sacrifice without the Holy of Holies, for answerably he was crucified without the city, Heb. xiii. 12.
2. He carried this his blood into the Holy of Holies, namely, the Heavens, Heb. ix. 12, where he
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appears, ver. 24, and there also prays in the force oi that blood. And the type of those prayers was that cloud of incense made by the High Priest; so it is expressly interpreted, Rev. viii. 3, &c. The Angel Christ is said to have had much incense, to offer it with the prayers of all the saints. Which incense is his own prayers in heaven, which he continually puts up when the saints pray on earth, and so perfumes all their prayers, and procures all blessings for them.
Both these parts of his Priesthood the Apostle John mentions in hia first Epistle, chap. ii. ver&e 2, where, as he calls Jesus Christ a propitiation for our sins; (that is, an oblation or sacrifice offered up for us) so likewise he calls him our advocate, both going to make up this his office. And indeed, this latter of Intercession, and bringing his blood into the Holy of Holies (or heaven) is but the same action continued. That blood which he offered with tears and strong cries on the cross, (where he likewise interceded) the same blood he continues virtually to offer up with prayers ti the heavens, and makes atonement by both; only with this difference, on earth, though he interceded, yet he more eminently offered up himself; in heaven, he more eminently intercedes, and doth but present that offering.
IT. This was so necessary a part of his Priesthood, that without it he had not been a complete Priest. Thus Heb. viii. 4, If he were on earth, he should not be a Priest; that is, if he should have abode on earth, he should not have been a complete Priest. Paul saith not, that if he had offered that his sacrifice on earth, he had not been a Priest, for thsvt was necessary; but that if he had staid still on earth, after he had offered it, he had not been a Priest, that is, a perfect Priest; for he had then left his office imperfect, and had done it but by halves, seeing this other part of it (the work of intercession) lay still upon him to be acted in heaven. Thus the High Priest, his type, if he had only offered sacrifice without the Holy of Holies, had not been a perfect High Priest; for to enter into the Holy of Holies, and to act the part of a Priest there, was the proper peculiar work of the High Priest, as such. Which shews, that Christ had not been an High Priest, if he had not gone to heaven, and Priested it there too, (as I may so speak) as well as upon earth. Yea, it* Christ had not gone to heaven, and were not now become a Priest there, then the Leviticai Priesthood were still in force, and should yet share .the honour with him; and the High Priest must continue still to go into the Holy of holies. To this purpose you may observe, that so long as Christ was on earth, though risen, the types of the Law held in force, and were not to give way, till all the truth signified by their ministry, was fully accom plished; and so not until Christ was gone into hea ven, as a Priest, and there had began to do all that which the High Priest had done in the Holy of holies, and as his type fore-signified. And this is plainly the meaning of what follows, in Heb. viii. 4, as the reason or demonstration why that Christ should not have been a Priest, if he had not gone to heaven, .not only as a King but as a Priest too, as he had affirmed, ver. 1. Seeing, says he, that there be Priests upon earth, that do offer gijh according to the laic. The force of the reason lies thus there are already
Priests, and that of a tribe he was not of, that offer gifts on earth, before he came into the world. And therefore if that had been all his Priesthood, to be a Priest on earth, they would plead possession before him, having been Priests before him. And then he further backs his reason by this, that those Priests served (as it follows verse 5.) unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. And therefore it is only a real Priesthood in Heaven which must put them out of place; and till such a Priesthood comes, they must serve still, for the truth, which these served to shadow out, is not till then fulfilled. This you have also chap. ix. 8, Tlie//;^ tabernacle was to stand until a Priest went into lieavcn, and did act that office there; so that if Christ will be a Priest alone, he must become a Priest interceding in heaven: or else High Priests must come up again, and share that office with him; and so he should as good as fall from his office and lose all that he had done.
Yea, this part of his Priesthood is of the two the more eminent; yea, the top, the height of his Priesthood. And this is held forth to us, in the types of both those two orders of Priesthood that were be fore him, arid figures of him; both that of Aaron and Melchisedec. This was typified out in that Levitical Priesthood of Aaron and his fellows. The highest service of that office was the going into the Holy of Holies and making an atonement there: yea, this was the height of the High Priest’s honour, that he did this alone, and did constitute the difference between him, as he was High Priest, and other Priests: for they killed and offered the sacrifices without as well as he, every ordinary Priest did that; but none but the High Priest was to approach the Holy of Holies with blood, and this but once a year. Thus Heb. ix. 0, 7, The Priests (namely those inferior Priests) went always (that is, daily, morning and evening) into thejirst tabernacle, (or Court of Priests, which was without the Holy of Holies) accomplishing the service of God; namely, that offering of the daily sacrifice: but into the second, namely, the Holy of Holies, went the High Priests alone every year: so then this was that high and trancendent prerogative of that High Priest then, and which indeed made him High Priest; and answerably the height of our High Priest’s office, although he alone also could offer a satisfactory sacrifice, as the Apostle shews, Ileb. ix. andx. yet comparatively lay in this, that he entered into the heavens by his blood and is set down on the Majesty on high, and in the virtue of his sacrifice there doth intercede. I know but one place that calleth him the great High Priest, higher by far than Aaron, and that is Heb. iv. 14, 16; and then it is in this respect that he is passed into the cavern, as it follows there.
The excellency of this part of his Priesthood was likewise typified out by Melchisedec’s Priesthood, which the Apostle argueth to have been much more excellent than that of Aaron’s, in as much as Levi, Aaron’s father, payed tythes to this Melchisedec in Abraham’s loins. Now Melchisedec was his type not so much in respect of his oblation, or offering of sacrifice (that work which Christ performed on earth) but in respect of that work which he for ever performs in heaven; therefore that same clause, for ever, still comes in, in the quotation and mention of Melchisedec’s priesthood in that Epistle; because in repect of that his continual intercession in heaven, Melchisedec was properly Christ’s type. And therefore you may observe, Psalm ex. when is it that that speech comes in (Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec) but then, when God had him sitting at his right hand, verse 1. So that as the trancendent excellency of Christ’s Priesthood was typified out by Melchisedec’s rather than Aaron’s, as being the better priesthood of the two; and so this, the most excellent part thereof, was typified out thereby, namely, that which Christ for ever acteth in heaven.
And 3rdly, to confirm this, you shall find this to be the top notion of this Epistle to the Hebrews, and the scope of it chiefly to discourse of Christ’s eternal priesthood in heaven; and to shew how therein Melchisedec was a type of him. This is not only expresed both in Heb. vii. 21 and 25, where this same for ever is applied to his Intercession, but more expressly in chap. viii. 1, where the Apostle puts the emphasis upon this part of his priesthood, saying That of the things which we have spoken, or which are to be spoken, (for the word epi tois legomcnois will bear either) this is, says he, the sum, or argument of all. The word is kephalaion, and signifies as well the head, the chief, the top of all, and above all, as it doth the sum of all. And what is it that he thus professeth to be both the main subject and argument of this Epistle, and the top and eminent thing in Christ he intends to discourse of? tt follows, That we have such an High Priest, as is set down at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens,.
And of the Priestly office he alone discourseth both before and after; and in the following verses calleth his ministry or office, in respect of this, a more excellent ministry, verse 6, he being suck a Priest as was higher than the heavens, as he had set him out in the latter part of the former chapter. And therefore you may observe, how in his preface to this Epistle to the Hebrews, in chap. i. 3, he holds up this to our eye, as the argument to the whole, saying, When he had by himself purged our sins, he sat dawn on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Yea, to conclude this, all his priesthood would have been ineffectual, if he had not acted the part of a Priest in heaven, by his Intercession there: for by his death he did but begin the execution of his office; in heaven he ends it: and if he had not fulfilled his office in both, the work of our salvation had not been fully perfected: it was therefore as necessary as the oblation itself. Not but that his Death was a perfect oblation: it was perfect for an oblation, to which, as such, nothing can be added. There needed no more, nor any other price to be paid for us; by that one offering, he perfects for ever, as Heb. x. 14, find became himself perfect thereby, chap. v. 9. And in the 9th chap, verse 12, By his own blood he entered ifito the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for it*. Mark how before he entered by his blood into heaven, he had fully obtained a redemption, and that eternal, that is, for ever sufficient; which done, he became through his Intercession in heaven, an ‘applying cause of eternal salvation, as Heb. v. 10, 11, hath it. So that as in his death he paid the full sum of all we owed; unto which payment nothing can be
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added, (no, noir by himself, though he would coma and die again; it was made at that once as perfect flhat is, for an oblation) as ever himself could make) but yet still by God’s ordination there remained another further action of another kind, that was to be added to this of oblation, and that is Intercession, or praying for us in heaven; otherwise our salvation by his death were not perfected; for if his Priesthood be imperfect, our salvation then must needs be so. The presenting of that his sacrifice in heaven, was the consummation of his Priesthood, and the performance of that part there, the perfection of it.