Life Marks – OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST
Last week was pretty involved in helping you to understand how Jesus could qualify as our High Priest even though he did not descend (through his earthly parents, Joseph and Mary) from the tribe of Levi, from which Aaron, Moses’ brother, was the first High Priest. As the writer of Hebrews tells us, Jesus was qualified because He descended from an entirely different “order” of priests, from the order of Melchizedek, that “mysterious” priest whom Abraham met and paid tithes to way back in the Book of Genesis. As we saw, only a few verses were ever recorded about him before he disappeared from the pages of history. But those verses were enough to help us realize that Jesus more than qualifies as our High Priest.
The writer of Hebrews has more to say about the high priesthood descended from the Tribe of Levi. He says that throughout the Old Covenant (which lasted about 1500 years), these priests were “…appointed from among men to represent the Israelites in matters relating to God, specifically, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” He continues by saying that because the high priest is just a man (the temple in Jerusalem was still standing at the time of his writing), “He is able to deal gently with those who are undisciplined and going astray, since he himself is subject to the same weaknesses that all men face, And consequently, even the high priest has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people” (Heb. 5:1-3).
The writer of Hebrews then asks a great question of his readers: “If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood….why was their still the need for another priest to come – one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?” (Heb. 7:11). He then makes the obvious point that since the days of Moses and Aaron, a multitude of priests have been appointed, only to eventually die, giving way to another priest, from one generation to the next. However, because Jesus lives “forever” (remember, after His resurrection in which He appeared to over 500 people over a period of 40 days, He ascended on high and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven), He has a “permanent” priesthood. And because of this, “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him because he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb. 7:23-25). Yes, our Great High Priest in heaven is constantly interceding to the Father on our behalf.
And, the writer goes on to say that Jesus, the One who is “….holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens is able to meet all of our needs” (Heb. 7:26). Oh, and I really love what he says next, “Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people.” Why? Because “He sacrificed His own life once and for all when He offered Himself, dying on the cross for all of our sins” (Heb. 7:27).
Now, here is a twist that is really special. In the Old Covenant, the high priest would sacrifice an unblemished lamb on the altar for his own sins and for the sins of the people. At the beginning of His earthly ministry, John the Baptist identified Jesus as “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). And so, our Great High Priest, offered Himself (as an unblemished lamb) as the sacrifice for our sins. In other words, our High Priest became our sacrificial lamb. The Apostle Peter confirmed this when he wrote, “….you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold…but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). Wow!
And so, with all of these truths about our Great High Priest, the door is wide open for us to respond. But how? And for what? Again, the author of Hebrews encourages us to do something.
Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need (Heb. 4:14-16).
Whatever we are going through in our lives, Jesus knows all about it. He knows our hurts and pains, our temptations and struggles, our doubts and fears. He has faced everything that we have faced, and will face, and yet He did not sin. And, when we bring our requests before Him, we can do it confidently, knowing that He will hear our requests and grant us mercy and grace in our time of need.
So, if you need to talk to Him, go right ahead. He is available any time, day or night. He won’t be sleeping. He’s ready to hear from you.
