Jesus The Priest
Hebrews 7: 26 – “He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.” NLT
The common lectionary (which is the global guide to weekly Scripture readings for worship), took a strange turn in October. We have just gone through the book of Mark in September and were able to see Jesus as a teacher and learning from just a few of the many things that Jesus taught us. The month of October opened the book of Hebrews in which we see Jesus identified as our once for all High Priest.
The old covenant high priest offered gifts and sacrifices for sins on behalf of men in relation to God. He was the mediator between God and the people. God would come in judgment because of the sins of the people and the high priest would stand in their place, offering sacrifices that satisfied God’s justice and demonstrated His mercy by punishing an innocent animal in place of a guilty human being. For us, Christ fulfills this by offering Himself as the final sacrifice for our sins.
Jesus the Priest is far more than we deserve. As Paul would say, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23) If this is true, then we all need a High Priest in order to have access to God through the cleansing of our sins. In being our once for all High Priest, Jesus is so much more than just a Savior. He is our perfect leader (Hebrews 2: 5-12). He is our understanding priest (Hebrews 4: 12-16). He is a priest that is praying for us (Hebrews 5: 1-10). He is our priest forever, seated at the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews 7: 23-28). His heart and nature, which are that of God the Father, is that of sacrifice and love (Hebrews 9: 11-14).
Jesus is more than your typical priest. He is all knowing, all loving, and all forgiving. He calls to us, that our lives would look more and more like Him, as he bears the weight of our faults.
– Pastor Mike
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