Two words are central to the author's argument for the superiority of Christ: perfect and better.

These words hold the key to today's passage. Jesus is a perfect High Priest, totally separate from sin; therefore, He brought in a better covenant. This is the basic truth to grasp in the verses before us.

The author is building the case for his declaration that the Law of Moses, under which his Jewish Christian readers had been brought up, had been done away with in Christ. Chapter 7 is part of an extended section, stretching into chapter 10, in which the superior priesthood and covenant of Jesus Christ are revealed.

The oath of God is one reason that the new covenant Jesus established is better than the old. The Law of Moses did not require an oath from its priests. Even if those priests had been required to swear their faithfulness, their oath would have lasted only as long as they lived. Every new priest would have had to swear a new oath.

The priesthood of Jesus forever settled the issue of an oath; God Himself took an oath that Jesus would be ""a priest forever"" (v. 21). This verse and verse 17, quotations from Psalm 110:4, show that God made this promise long before Jesus came to earth to fulfill His ministry. Since the oath of God cannot be changed, Jesus is guaranteed an eternal priesthood.

It seems that every paragraph we encounter in Hebrews gives us another reason to thank God for the new covenant in Jesus' blood (Luke 22:20). It's obvious that human spiritual leaders are imperfect people who grow old and die, just like everyone else.

It's one thing to lose leaders. It's another thing to have to rely on those leaders and their endless sacrificial rituals for our acceptance before God. The whole Levitical system had a sense of impermanence about it that nothing could fix--except a totally different priesthood and a perfect High Priest!

Jesus meets this need (v. 26). Look at His qualifications, compare Him with every other priest, and you'll praise God that He appointed His perfect Son to be your High Priest.

No one but Jesus can ""save completely those who come to God through him"" (v. 25).

The book of Hebrews helps us understand about the ""present tense"" of salvation. This is the priestly work that Jesus Christ is carrying out in heaven today to help us in our struggles and to keep us cleansed from sin. Because He always lives to intercede for you, you can bring Him your deepest need or burden today--and we urge you to do so.