A Life That Cannot Be Destroyed

Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. Hebrews 7:16

EVERYBODY KNEW that someone couldn’t be a priest unless he was from the tribe of Levi. Yet the writer of this letter was trying to convince the Hebrew people that someone (Jesus) who wasn’t even a descendant of Aaron was the perfect High Priest. He built his case by reminding them that one thousand years before Aaron, there was a priest of God who was appointed by God and respected by Abraham —Melchizedek. Jesus is not a priest by ancestry, like the Aaronic priests; he is a priest by appointment, like Melchizedek. Jesus is a priest because of who he is, not because of the family he came from.

In the Old Testament priesthood, serving had nothing to do with character, ability, personality, or holiness. It was about the family you were born into. But the priesthood of Jesus is about who he is, what he has accomplished, and what he is doing, even now.

Because Jesus, our Mediator before God, has a life that cannot be destroyed, there will never be a day that he is not before the throne of God pleading our case. There will never be a day that he is not interceding with God about our needs. There will never be a day that his perfect record of righteousness will fail to cover us.

And because Jesus has a life that cannot be destroyed, all who are joined to him have lives that cannot be destroyed. What security this brings! What an antidote to fear this offers! If your child is joined to Christ, not only does he or she have everything to gain in the life to come because Jesus is pleading his or her case before the heavenly Father; your child has nothing to fear in this life. And neither do you. When your child is joined to Jesus, his or her life cannot be destroyed because Jesus’ life cannot be destroyed. Like Jesus, your child may pass through physical death, but like Jesus, you can be sure that he or she will rise again.

Lord, I am grateful that it is not up to me to plead ________’s case before your throne. Jesus is there, interceding, upholding, keeping, and mediating for ________. I can rest. The power of a life that cannot be destroyed is protecting and preserving ________’s life.