“Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For He testifies: ‘You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’ For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” (Hebrews 7:11-19).
The facts of history plus simple logic lead to the irresistible conclusion: Since Levi is inferior to Abraham and Abraham is inferior to Melchizedek, Levi (and his priesthood) is inferior to Melchizedek (and his priesthood). This conclusion, then, demands the asking of an unanswerable question: “If perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?”
Hebrews 7:11-25 contain an avalanche of evidence for the immense superiority of Jesus’ High Priesthood in the new covenant over the Levitical priesthood of the old covenant. Declared are five monumental proofs. The first two are:
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It was promised while the Levitical priesthood was in effect (vv. 11-14). Just as the rest promised by David in Psalm 95 was centuries after the rest realized during the days of Joshua and thus implies that there must be a future rest for God’s people (Hebrews 4:8-9), the prediction of a new order of High Priest by David in Psalm 110 (which was centuries after the inauguration of the Levitical priesthood) implies that there must be a future change in the divinely authorized priesthood. (In light of the fact that the Old Testament’s priesthood could not make anyone perfect, such a promise ought to be joyously welcomed, not rejected.)
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It would last forever (vv. 15-19). The criteria used to determine Jesus’ fitness for priesthood is founded upon His righteous character and the power of His endless life, not His family’s genealogy.
