Christ is capable because He is living (v. 25). He is available and prevailing also because He is living. Everything He can do depends on one thing—that He is living.
Because He is living, Christ can continue His priesthood forever without being prevented by death (vv. 23-24). In the Old Testament times, all of the priests were prevented by death from continuing their priesthood, but death can never prevent Christ, the ever-living One, from continuing His priesthood.
Christ’s priesthood is unalterable; it cannot be changed. What He is, He is once for all and forever. He is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (13:8), and so is His priesthood.
Verse 25 tells us that Christ is able to save to the uttermost. The word translated uttermost also means completely, entirely, perfectly, for all time and eternity, and to the end. Because He lives forever without any change, Christ is able to save us to the uttermost in extent, in time, and in space. Both in extent, in time, and in space, His saving of us reaches to the uttermost.
Christ is able to save us because He intercedes for us. As our High Priest, Christ undertakes our case by interceding for us. He appears before God on our behalf, praying for us that we may be saved and brought fully into God’s eternal purpose. You may say that you have never realized that He is interceding for you. There is no need for you to realize this. What good would it do if you did realize it? Do not try to realize His intercession. Simply rest in it, trust in it, and enjoy it. Be assured that your divine High Priest is continually interceding for you. My experience tells me that many times I have been saved by His intercession. We have a perpetual, constant, and eternal Intercessor.
Our divine High Priest intercedes for us constantly, knowing how easy it is for us to fall and, once we have fallen, to remain in our fallen state. Sooner or later His intercession will overcome, subdue, and save us. If this does not happen today or tomorrow, it may happen next year, in the next age, or, at the latest, in the new heaven and the new earth. We all shall be completely subdued and saved by His intercession. God has appointed Him to take care of us, and He is now taking care of us by interceding for us. Although you may forget that you have called upon His name, He will never forget it. He is interceding for you and He will save you to the uttermost.
Verse 26 says that “such a High Priest befits us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners.” Christ is holy, guileless, undefiled, and separated from sinners. As such a perfect One, He surely befits us. We, having a fallen and corrupted nature, need such a High Priest to save us all the time.
Verse 26 also says that He has “become higher than the heavens.” In His ascension, Christ “has passed through the heavens” (4:14). Now He is not only in heaven (9:24) but also “higher than the heavens,” “far above all heavens” (Eph. 4:10). How high are your troubles? Do you have any that are higher than the heavens? Because our High Priest is higher than the heavens, He is able to rescue us and save us to the uttermost.
Verse 27 says that our High Priest “does not have daily need as the high priests, to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins, and then for the sins for the people; for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.” This does not refer to what Christ is doing today but to what He did in the past. This verse assures us that never again need we be bothered by sin, for Christ has offered Himself for sins once for all. On the cross He solved the problem of sin once for all. Now, on the throne, He is carrying out His priesthood forever. How marvelous it is that we have such a kingly and divine High Priest!