Jesus, our only High Priest

Chapter Sixty-one:


When we hear the name "Jesus Christ" we think of our Savior, the one who died on the Cross in order to bear the sins of all mankind. We believe He was resurrected and now sits at the right hand of God.  What we do not hear much about is why He is seated there. We tend to think He is just waiting for His time to return to earth, dispose of the enemy and set up His kingdom.  However, Jesus has several very important roles He fulfills while He is seated at the Father's right hand, and these will be the focus of the next two chapters. 

One of the most significant roles He has is that of being our High Priest.  While it may not seem important to you, it is imperative that you understand what it means as it is one of the very key foundations of Christianity and is what sets it apart from other religions and belief systems.

Let us pause for a moment and look at the need for the High Priests in the Old Testament, which was before the time of Christ.  Man, who was without hope and had a severed relationship with God after the Fall in the Garden of Eden, needed some way to have his sins forgiven by God.  The High Priests were designed to stand in the gap between man and God. 

The High Priests had to come out of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, specifically the house of Levi.  These individuals had to be men who had been prepared all of their lives for this high position and then they had to be approved by God. They were the only ones who could approach God in order to ask for and receive forgiveness and cleansing for the sins of the people.  The Old Testament Law said that in order for the Israelites to be forgiven their sins, sacrifices of certain animals had to be made (the shedding of blood) and certain rituals had to be followed.  The Priest was required to offer sacrifices first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. This was also called the time of the "Old Covenant".

The High Priest would go before God in the innermost part of the Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies,  where the earthly presence of God dwelled,  in order to present the blood atonement for the sins of himself and the people he represented.  He knew that these sacrifices could not completely atone for sin or change man's sinful nature, and was only a temporary solution. Thus the need for the ongoing  sacrifices and rituals.

God, however,  knew it was not possible for the blood of animals, no matter how many were killed, to purge away mankind's sins and strike a blow to the sin nature that lives within all. This Priesthood and its rituals and sacrifices was not intended to be permanent.    It was meant to only be a temporary solution, until Jesus Christ would come and bear the burden of the sins of the world.

At the very moment Jesus Christ "gave up his spirit" on the Cross outside Jerusalem (John 19:30), the very finger of God Almighty reached into the temple's most holy place, splitting and tearing the heavy hanging veil which had housed the earthly presence of the invisible God and that had separated Him from man. God was indicating the beginning of a new relationship with mankind and the ushering in of the "New Covenant".

 

All the Old Covenants, altars, sacrifices and High Priests were done away with and made useless as the New Covenant began.   Jesus' cry of "It is finished!" not only meant that He was bearing the sins of the world and making a way to permanently restore the broken fellowship between mankind and God,  but it also meant that He, himself, would now become our permanent High Priest.

In the Book of Hebrews, the writer (thought to be Paul) wanted to make sure they understood that their eternal salvation did not rest upon the earthly offerings that they had been making, but that Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross was what would assure one's eternal salvation, if they believed, and allowed Him to become Lord of their life.  Hebrews 8:1-2 tells us "We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man."  And Jesus' sacrifice was for all mankind, not just the Jewish people.

The shedding of Jesus' precious blood was the forever, the permanent sacrifice for all mankind.  Jesus now has a permanent priesthood.  Hebrews 7:24-25 tells us, "But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him...".  Jesus' death not only introduced a new way of receiving permanent forgiveness for sin, but just as importantly, it introduced a new, permanent way of being able to approach God.  It opened the way for all Christians  to have direct access to God, something which had never before been possible. No longer would we need someone to intervene on our behalf before God.

What this means, and why it is so very important that we understand the significance of Jesus Christ our Savior being our only High Priest, is that now all Christians, all disciples of Christ, regardless of race or creed, can boldly approach God without anyone being in the middle between them and God. We have direct access into the presence of God, without the help of anyone! As believers we can boldly go before God on our own with our concerns and prayers. We can go straight to God and confess our sin and receive forgiveness! And, if anyone tells you that you cannot approach God on your own, they are in serious error and are rewriting the Scriptures to suit their own ends.

Other religions promote openly, or sometimes subtly, that you will only receive salvation by your good works, or that you still need a priest to help you reach God.  The fact that Jesus died for our sins and is now our High Priest does away with our needing any type of priest.  We do not need to work our way into heaven.  Unfortunately, many still attend church on a regular basis looking for hope,  looking for mercy, and looking for forgiveness because they do not understand this. What they do not realize is that what they are looking for is already available through Jesus Christ.

When a person has received Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, he/she can boldly shout "It is done... Jesus is now my new High Priest!  He has made it possible for me to approach God without anyone in the middle, because of what He did for me. I can pray for forgiveness for my sins, without anyone in the middle, because of what He did for me. Sacrifices are no longer necessary. Rituals are no longer necessary.  Praying in a specific way is no longer necessary.  I can approach God, by myself and speak to Him as I would a regular person.  God, send me out so I can tell others of this wonderful truth and the freedom that I have found in you."