Christ the High Priest! When people hear the name of Jesus, what do they think and how do they picture Him. Among the many names and many roles that Jesus plays, the one significant role I will be speaking about today is Jesus as the High Priest. Before we dive in, let’s focus on who the High Priest was in the Old Testament and why Jesus has been deemed this title.
The Establishment of the Priesthood and High Priest Position
The priesthood was established by God and He appointed Moses’ brother Aaron as the first High Priest. This role was hereditary, passing the holy title from father to son. Also, the priesthood was established for Aaron’s tribe called the Levites. They were designated as the priest class and were responsible for the sanctuary and offerings. The High Priest managed the other priests and conducted the service for the Day of the Atonement. This service was held on the 10th day of the 7th month and the High Priest would do the sacrifice and offer the blood of the sacrifice for his sins and the sins of his people. Above all, the High Priest must be holy and must maintain his holiness.
Exodus 28:1-3
28 “Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. 2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor. 3 Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest.
Numbers 18:1-2
The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your family are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood.>Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the tent of the covenant law.
Leviticus 21:6-8
6 They must be holy to their God and must not profane the name of their God. Because they present the food offerings to the Lord, the food of their God, they are to be holy. 7 “‘They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands, because priests are holy to their God. 8 Regard them as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy—I who make you holy.
Exodus 30:10
10 Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering[b] for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord.”
Leviticus 16:14-15
14 He is to take some of the bull’s blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover. 15 “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it.
Jesus as the High Priest
Jesus is considered the High Priest because He has executed two main roles:
- He went to the Father as an intercessor like the High Priest and asked for the forgiveness of our sins, through His sacrifice.
- He offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. His blood which was spilled for the atonement of our sins. He became The Last Sacrifice. God the Father will not contradict Himself, therefore, He did not spare His Only Begotten Son for this sacrificial role in order to restore us to Him. Blood was needed for the atonement of mankind, therefore, Christ became the last sacrifice.
Hebrews 5:1-10
Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”[a] 6 And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”[b] 7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Jesus as the Intermediary
Just like the High Priest in the Old Testament, Jesus assumed the role of the intermediary between God the Father and mankind. Jesus has filled the gap and through that blood that was spilled for us, God the Father can restore us to Him because the Father sees us through the blood of Jesus.
Furthermore, everything that we ask from the Father, we ask through the name of His Son, Jesus. He is the One who speaks to the Father on our behalf and asks the Father to wipe our sins as far as the east is from the west. Therefore, we have direct access to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 2:1-6
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time
John 14:13-14
13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Conclusion
God the Father appointed His Son Jesus Christ as the High Priest, the One who came down on to this earth to shed His own blood for the atonement of our sin. He is the High Priest because He is the only Intermediary between the Father and mankind. AMEN
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