Many religious people today don’t seem to know that
Christians have a High Priest. People definitely must have someone to represent
them before the Almighty. We would all be lost without a mediator. The
Scriptures tell us: But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to
the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant
with God, based on better promises. Hebrews
8:6 (NLT). The whole redemption plan is based on our High
Priest representing us before the all-powerful eternal being.
An Old Testament priest provided a shadow picture to help us see what
Jesus is doing for us. Let us start with the death of a high priest. When a
human accidentally killed someone they could run to a city of refuge to survive
any revenge. The Bible says: The
slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high
priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his
own property. Numbers 35:28.
When Jesus died, by law a way was made for
us to return to the status of a person free from sin so that one day we can go
home.
Every high priest was chosen by God to be the supreme ruler of the temple
and all the spiritual people of Israel. The
high priest has the highest rank of all the priests. The anointing oil has been
poured on his head, and he has been ordained to wear the priestly garments. He
must never leave his hair uncombed or tear his clothing. Leviticus 21:10. One of his garments was a white hat with the golden
word “HOLINESS” written on it. He was to keep himself absolutely clean and holy
all the time. Jesus was completely clean and holy all the time.
This special person was
allowed to approach God in the Holy Place behind the curtain one time per year
to make atonement for God’s people. Only then would the following year have the
blessing of God on people. The high priest was never allowed to be around dead
bodies because it was a sin. He must not defile the sanctuary of
his God by leaving it to attend to a dead person, for he has been made holy by
the anointing oil of his God. I am the LORD.
Leviticus 21:12. Jesus
kept the law by simply restoring life to them.
All the messages for the people of God were given to the High Priest
until the days of the kings and prophets arrived. There were two engraved
jewels that the holy man wore in a pouch on his chest, right over his heart. At
times of need he would throw one or the other and the Lord would give answers
by controlling the final position of the jewel. This is how instructions for
Israel were received: When direction from the LORD is needed, Joshua will stand before
Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before
the LORD—to determine his will… Numbers 27:21 . The high
priest was responsible for the entire nation.
On the Day of Atonement there was a life or death decision to make. Then he must take the two male
goats and present them to the LORD
at the entrance of the Tabernacle. He is to cast sacred lots to determine which
goat will be reserved as an offering to the LORD
and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. Aaron
will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the LORD. The other goat, the scapegoat
chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the LORD. Leviticus 16:7-10. One day soon Jesus will chose some people to live with the Lord God and
the others will be sent out to the Lake of Fire.
Jesus ascended from the
Mt. of Olives and the Almighty gave him the position of High Priest. This
sacred job is our hope of glory. Paul said: For
there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the
man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone…1 Timothy 2:5-6. It is truly amazing that: With
his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place
once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Hebrews 9:12 (NLT). We must embrace our High Priest
for his is wonderful.
Christians have their roots in the Old Testament religion of the Jews.
Everything God had them do was reflective of true worship as it is in Heaven.
It is true that we have a FAR better covenant today because of the sacrifice
that Jesus made for us and because the Spirit of our High Priest is living in
us. Proof of our superior covenant is shown in this unusual verse: All these people (O.
T. saints) earned a good reputation
because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had
promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would
not reach perfection without us. Hebrews
11:39-40 . The end of
today’s covenant is perfection of holiness.
