Bible Studies

JESUS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST

by Luella Campbell
02/28/15
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JESUS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the hope we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin. Let us then approach God's throne with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Heb. 4: 14-16)

How well we know this passage of Scripture!

For those of my readers who do not have a Jewish background, that Jesus is our high priest may not mean much to you. After all, you have not been schooled in the teaching that you need a representative before God. For as long as you have been believers in Jesus, you have known that He represents you to the Father because He is God's Son. But what if you have been born into an Israelite family on the journey through the wilderness?

They knew what it was like to be terrified of a God who had the power destroy an entire country with one disaster after another. They saw what He did to the Egyptians. They saw the devastation the plagues did to their crops, their homes and even their families when He rained down death on everything, including their firstborn sons. They saw the bodies of the Egyptian army floating in the Red Sea after they had crossed on dry land. Would they ever forget the terrible spectacle of walls of water swallowing up an entire army with their horses and chariots?

They heard God's voice thundering from the fiery mountain top when He came down to cut His covenant with them. Not even an animal was to touch the mountain lest it die. They felt heat of God's anger when He wiped out great numbers of them through plagues of disease and fiery serpents when they complained about their circumstances instead of trusting Him. O yes, they had enough proof of His terrifying power!

They knew they needed a go-between, someone who would stand between this fearful God and them to negotiate and intervene on their behalf. They needed someone to plead for forgiveness when they sinned against Him through their disobedience and rebellion when they could not get their own way. In His great love He appointed Moses's brother, Aaron to be their mediator, their high priest who stood before Him on their behalf.

As long as Aaron approached God the way He prescribed, he was preserved from death. He had to take blood with him - the blood of a goat onto whom the sins of the nation had been pressed, and then slaughtered in the prescribed way. He had to make sure that he did it exactly as he was commanded or he would also die right there in the Holy of Holies where God's presence was represented by an unearthly flame.

It seemed that this God was looking for reasons to kill them. He was so holy and so unapproachable that only Moses, their leader and Aaron, their high priest could get anywhere near Him. As for the rest of the people, they stayed as far away as possible and only ever went near the tabernacle if they had a sacrifice to offer.

As Jesus drew His last breath on the cross and died, something unthinkable happened. The great thick, heavy curtain that kept everyone except the high priest out of the Most Holy Place, suddenly split right down the middle. There was the unearthly glow of God's presence hovering over the mercy seat, visible to everyone in the Holy Place - AND NOTHING HAPPENED TO THEM. No one was struck dead as they glimpsed what they had never been allowed to look at. Even the high priests had never see God's glory because the smoke of the incense they carried into the Holy of Holies shielded their eyes from the sight.

How did that happen? God's anger against sin had been satisfied once and for all. Never again would He demand a sacrifice. Sin's debt had finally been paid, and by no less a person than His own Son. Not only that, but Jesus also represents us to the Father in the heavenly sanctuary. He is a perfect high priest because He experienced all the weaknesses of human flesh without breaking under the tests. He died but He rose again and lives forever to represent us to the Father.

And the Father is satisfied.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.