May 3, 2015
With the coming of Jesus our Messiah a massive change took place in God's program: both the Law of Moses and the Aaronic Priesthood came to an end. They were replaced by the Law of Messiah and the Melchizedekian Priesthood. As Gentiles we struggle to comprehend the magnitude of this change.
For the Jews of the first century A.D. such an idea was incomprehensible. In their view Jesus was a blasphemer, not the Messiah. As far as they were concerned absolutely nothing changed in God's program. To suggest that the Law of Moses and the Aaronic Priesthood had ended and been replaced was, in their view, an attack on Judaism and Jewish identity.
Their hatred and persecution of messianic believers for holding such a belief is not hard to understand. In Hebrews 7:11-28 the Preacher explains the purpose, reasons and result of this change in God's program. He shows that this change in the law and priesthood is not a New Testament invention, but was always part of God's plan as revealed in the Jewish Scriptures by one of the pillars of Judaism, King David himself.