The preacher uses Melchizedek as a symbol and example of Christ’s priesthood to emphasize its superiority and complete novelty, contrasting it with and breaking away from the traditional Temple priesthood in Jerusalem. He highlights two main qualities: effectiveness and eternal duration. Our high priest is one of a kind and lives forever, as confirmed by the oath: “You are a priest forever” (21). Lastly, the Levitical priests were sinners and had to offer “sacrifices every day, first for their own sins” (27), while the high priest Jesus is described as “holy, innocent, and without blemish” (26), offering himself as a spotless sacrifice “once and for all” (27).