Daily Devotionals

It’s the most famous and unforgettable photograph of President Lyndon B. Johnson ever shot: He’s taking the oath of office as the 36th president of the United States. John F. Kennedy was dead, recently killed by an assassin’s bullet. Johnson is standing in a tiny stateroom aboard Air Force One for the proceeding. He’s flanked by his wife, Lady Bird, and Jacqueline Kennedy.

This was the first inauguration of a U.S. President to take place aboard an aircraft, the first to be conducted by a female federal district judge (Sarah T. Hughes), and the first to use a Catholic missal that was found on a side table in Kennedy’s Air Force One bedroom. In part, the presidential oath swears that he “will to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

As today’s Scripture points out, the most solemn oath ever sworn in history was by God Himself when the priesthood of Jesus, the Messiah, was established. The verb “to swear” means to make a solemn vow. Christ’s priesthood was not a result of being a descendant of Aaron. God divinely appointed Jesus. Just as Melchizedek was both priest and king, so Christ is our eternal King and Priest.

In the earthly priesthood, the blood of animals was offered, but Christ offered Himself as an atonement for our sins. The earthly priesthood of Jesus was carried out by the Lamb of God. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Assassin’s bullets sometimes change the course of history, but the plans of God will be carried out in the end. Jesus was not a temporary priest, but “a priest forever”—and His sacrifice will forever stand. “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all” (Romans 6:10).

Apply It:

How many presidential inaugurations have you observed? Have you ever heard the oath end with the words, “So help me God”?

Dig Deeper:

Leviticus 1:4; Psalm 40:6–8; Hebrews 5:1–11