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That the Lord Jesus Christ is our great High Priest under the gospel, the apostle had sufficiently demonstrated and confirmed before.
Observe here, How he next declares what is the nature, duty and office of Christ as our High Priest; namely, to offer gifts and sacrifice. A priest that has nothing to offer is no priest at all, Christ therefore offered as well as other high priests; but what! Bullocks and rams? In no wise: he offered himself his whole human nature, soul and body. As to the typical sacrifices he did not, could not offer them, were he upon earth, because he was not of the tribe of Levi, whose proper office it was to meddle with those offerings; therefore leaving the shadow to them, he offered the substance, himself; that is, his own body, signified by those shadows.
Learn hence, That there was not salvation to be had for us, no, not by Jesus Christ himself, without his sacrifice and oblation; It was of necessity that he should have somewhat to offer, as well as those priests had of old, according to the law. No salvation without atonement for sin but by sacrifice; no sacrifice sufficient for atonement but the death of Christ; and whoever looks for salvation otherwise than in the faith and virtue of that sacrifice, will be disappointed and deceived. But although applicaiton of its efficacy to the souls of belivers is made by Christ now in heaven; without which, neither their access to God nor their peace with God could be maintained, Heb_8:3-4.
In the fifth verse, , the apostle asserts, that the Levitical priests here below did perform those administrations which were but shadows of heavenly things above. Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.
Where to serve, is to officiate as priests, in offering gifts and sacrifices: But this their service was not spiritual and heavenly, but carnal and earthly: Yet a shadow and imitation of heavenly things.
Learn hence, That God alone limits the signification and us of all his own institutions. The ministry of the priests of old was only in and about earthly things, not having a resemblance and shadow of heavenly things. We must not take any thing out of God's insitutions which he has put in them, nor must we put more in them than God has furnished them withal. To expect that from any ordinance or institution of God which he never intended or designed, is to make an idol of the ordinance, and the way to render it useless, yea, pernicious and perilous to us; to put that into an ordinance which God never put into it, and to expect more from an ordinance, than God ever promised, is to overthrow it.
-"As Moses admonished of God, when he was about to make the tabernacle. for See, (saith he), that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount."
The words imply, that divine institution is the only pure rule of religious worship: Moses did nothing of his own head when he built the tabernacle, but had his directions in every thing from God. If persons will carve out the worship of God according to their own fancies, they may please themselves perhaps, but they never can please their Maker; for nothing is pleasing to God, as to the substance of religious worship, but what is of his own prescribing; consequently all that theatrical pomp which is found in the church of Rome, and makes the worship of God a dead thing, is a mere fornication in religion, and an abomination in the sight of God.
All their human inventions are intolerable presumptions. And as Moses was bound to give directions according to the pattern given him, so the priests, in their administrations, were bound to follow Moses' directions. Yet after all, the things which Moses was concerned about, were carnal things; the tabernacle was earthly, the offerings carnal, yet shadows of better things, even of heavenly; for the sanctuary was a shadow of a heavenly sanctuary; the priest of a better priest; the service, of a far better service: This seems to be the intention of our apostle.