“For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:”
Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law — an earthly Jesus could not function as priest under the Levitical system since that order has its own designated priests. The conditional structure highlights the radical discontinuity: Christ's priesthood transcends the earthly institutional framework entirely. This statement does not deny his incarnation but rather emphasizes that his priestly work operates in a sphere above and beyond earthly temples.
Church Fathers on Hebrews 8:4
In the next place that you may understand that he used the word “minister” of the manhood, observe how he again indicates it: “For” Hebrews 8:3 (he says) “every high priest is ordained to offer both gifts and sacrifices, wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.” Do not now, because you hear that He sits, suppose that His being called High Priest is mere idle talk. For the former, viz. His sitting, belongs to the dignity of the Godhead, but this…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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