Heb. 7:20. And as this was not without an oath, –
Here is another distinction of the new Priest from the ancient ones and of one covenant from the other. For the priesthood of Christ was promised not simply, but with an oath, so that the word of God would be fully believed, just as above, for greater persuasiveness, he said that God swore to Abraham (Heb. 6:13).
Heb. 7:21. For those were made priests without an oath, but This One with an oath, because it is said of Him: The Lord has sworn, and will not repent: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, – (Ps. 109:4)
For, he says, the priests of the law are appointed without an oath, and God swore concerning none of them, saying: you shall be a priest according to the law. But Christ with an oath, given through God, who says to Him: You are a priest according to a certain new order: not according to Aaron, but according to Melchizedek.
Heb. 7:22. By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
That is, since He swore that He would always be a priest. For He would not have sworn if He were not superior. Hence the New Testament is also superior to the Old.
Heb. 7:23. And they truly were many priests, because death did not permit one to continue;
Heb. 7:24. But He, because He abides forever, has an untransferable priesthood,
And here he shows the advantage that Christ has in comparison with the high priests according to the law, and says that there are many priests there, because they are mortal; but here there is one, because He is immortal. So, "He has a priesthood that does not pass away," that is, one that is shared with no one and not transferable. Do you see how much higher it is? As much as the immortal is higher than the mortal.
Heb. 7:25. Therefore He is also able always to save those who come to God through Him,
Since, he says, He is immortal, He can intercede for all and save to the uttermost, that is, He can grant salvation not temporary, but complete, and naturally, both here and in the life to come. For the high priest in the Old Testament, however illustrious he may have been, offered sacrifices to God during the time he lived, such as Samuel and those like him, but after that no longer, for he died. But here the High Priest is eternal and ever-living. Therefore He can always save those who come through Him, that is, through faith in Him. For whoever believes in the Son undoubtedly draws near to the Father, for He is the way to the Father, and whoever held to this way here receives rest there.
Heb. 7:25. Being ever alive to intercede for them.
This is said in such a humble manner about Christ according to the flesh. For indeed, He is the High Priest according to the flesh; and inasmuch as He is the High Priest, it is said that He intercedes. How does He who raises the dead and gives life, as the Father does, intercede, when it is His to save? How does He intercede, in whose power is all judgment, who sends angels to cast some into the furnace and to save others? Of course, He said "to intercede" according to His humanity. Condescending to his listeners, Paul says: do not be afraid and do not say: yes, He loves us and has boldness before the Father, but He cannot always accomplish the high-priestly work on our behalf. When I speak of His humanity, I do not separate Him from the Divinity, for both have one hypostasis, but I give the listeners to understand what is proper concerning each nature. Moreover, the very fact that the Son sits with the Father in the flesh is itself an intercession for us: as it were, the flesh entreats the Father on our behalf; certainly, it was assumed for this very reason, namely for our salvation.
Heb. 7:26. Such a High Priest was fitting for us: holy, blameless,
From these words it is clear that both above and now he speaks of the flesh. For who could say such a thing about God, and would he not be ashamed, applying this to the incomprehensible nature of God? So, He is "holy." Such a One Who leaves nothing undone that it is fitting for Him to accomplish; and "undefiled by evil," that is, free from guile and evil. "Neither was deceit found in His mouth" (Isa. 53:9; cf. 1 Pet. 2:22).
Heb. 7:26. undefiled,
And this also, who can call it praise for God: for He has such a nature that He is not defiled. It is clear that he says this about the humanity of the one Christ.
Heb. 7:26. Separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens,
The high priests according to the law, he says, even if they were holy in all other respects, nevertheless, being human, were not free from faults and not entirely "separated from sinners." For how could they be, if they themselves were partakers of transgressions? And besides, none of them was in heaven; but our High Priest, together with the fact that He is filled with every virtue and "separated from sinners," is also "exalted above the heavens," having sat down upon the very throne of the Father. The expression "exalted," as is evident, is used of Him according to the flesh. For, as God the Word, He was always "above the heavens."
Heb. 7:27. He who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people.
Having said that our High Priest is "separated from sinners," he now expands on this and says that He is so free from sins that, even having offered His own body as a sacrifice, He did not offer it for Himself — for how is this possible when He committed no sin? — but for us. There is, however, also another advantage. The high priests under the law offered sacrifices daily, since they were unable to cleanse all at once; but He offered a sacrifice having such great power that through it He cleansed the world in a single time. Thus, Christ in this respect also surpasses the priests.
Heb. 7:27. For He accomplished this once, having offered Himself as a sacrifice.
What does this mean? That He offered a sacrifice for the sins of men, and not for Himself. "Once," he says, He performed the sacred rite, and after this He sat down at the right hand of the Father, as Lord. Lest you, hearing that He is a priest, should think that He constantly stands and performs sacred rites, he shows that He became a priest according to the dispensation. And when the dispensation was completed, He again assumed His own majesty.
Heb. 7:28. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses;
Lest you think that although He offered once, yet it was also for Himself, he now proves that He did not offer for His own sins. For "the law appoints as high priests" ordinary men "who have weaknesses," that is, those who cannot resist sin, but who themselves, being weak, are subject to falls. But He, as the Son, being so powerful, how could He have sin? And having no sin, why would He offer a sacrifice for Himself? But even for others, not many times, but "once." As almighty, He was able through a single offering of sacrifice to accomplish everything. By "weakness" understand, as Paul himself says in many places, sin and even death. For since the high priests under the law were mortal and weak, they themselves were not sinless, and they could not cleanse others. But He is immortal and powerful. Listen also to what follows next.