“For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law” (Hebrews 8:4).
Hebrews 8:4 reminds us that Jesus was prohibited from serving as a priest during His earthly ministry. During that period, the Levitical priests were the only ones who could serve within the Tabernacle, as the author of Hebrews reminded us earlier within this epistle. That prohibition remained in effect throughout Jesus’ earthly life, thus precluding His entry into that service.
This echoes a point made earlier within this epistle: “…if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?” (Hebrews 7:11 NLT).
Since a new High Priest from outside the Levitical priesthood had come as a result of God’s promise, there was a necessary change in the priestly order. In other words, the law had to be changed to accommodate this new (and better) High Priest. That allows us to revisit several important insights offered by the following commentators…
“As long as the Mosaic law was operative, the fact that Jesus was of the tribe of Judah created an insurmountable obstacle. The Law never honored or allowed one from that tribe to function as priest. Conversely, when King Uzziah, a Judahite, took that role to himself, God judged him with leprosy (2 Chr 26:16–21).
As long as the Law was functional, Jesus could not serve as priest. But the Law promised another priest, one after the order of Melchizedek, who would replace the insufficient levitical priesthood and its law.” (1)
However, we should also remember that these earthly priests served in a tabernacle that was constructed by mere human beings. That structure represented a copy or facsimile of the genuine article in heaven where Jesus now serves (Hebrews 8:2). Hebrews chapter nine will go on to address this topic at greater length.
So why bring this subject up again here in Hebrews 8:4? Well, the source quoted earlier provides us with one potential answer…
“The author seems to desire to squelch any notion that if Christ did not have a priestly office on earth, how could He have one in heaven. The author’s point is that another levitical priest was not needed. They have enough. In fact, He would not qualify according to that order. Jesus is part of God’s new, heavenly order.” (2)
(1) Edward E. Hindson and Woodrow Michael Kroll, eds., KJV Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994), 2554.
(2) Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M., eds. (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2556). Thomas Nelson.