Why is Jesus ordained as High Priest?  Our Bible study is from the Book of Hebrews 8:7-13.  The author of Hebrews (whom we believe is Paul the Apostle), is writing to the Jews who received Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah, known today as Messianic Jews.  Establishing the audience and the purpose of the message is critical to correctly understand what the Holy Spirit is communicating through the author.  What the Holy Spirit is teaching us in this book and especially in these verses is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and the strategic purpose of the Old Testament as a compass, directing us to the coming of Jesus. 

So, why is Jesus ordained as High Priest and why do we need a Messiah? The answer is found in chapter 8 verses 7-8, “For if there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant, no place would have been sought for another”. 8 But God found fault with the people and said: ““The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah”. We’ll go in depth regarding the reference that is made for verse eight later, but for now, our focus is to better understand God’s purpose for establishing the Old Covenant.  The Old Covenant is the Law that was provided by the Lord as a means to portray our sin.  It essentially acts similar to a mirror,  reflecting man’s fallen nature and his inability to achieve perfection due to the sin that was committed in the Garden of Eden.   Ten Commandments is the official name of the 10 set of laws ordered by God for man to comply.  Of course, man is not capable of fulfilling all 10 commandments, hence proving that salvation cannot be achieved through works.  Paul the Apostle states the following in Ephesians 2:8-9, 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.  Therefore, the order of the priesthood was initiated, with a High Priest ordained as the person who would intercede between the sinners and God.  Since, he is a sinful man himself, he  made a sacrifice as atonement for his sins, then did the same for the Hebrew people.  This model was instituted by God as a replica of the temple in heaven and the role Jesus would assume as the High Priest.    Therefore, the Israelites executed daily sacrifices with vast amounts of blood spilled for the redemption and forgiveness of their sins. 

If the High Priest and the earthy temple is a replica of the heavenly, why didn’t it permanently resolve the issue of sin?  The answer is found in Jeremiah 31:31-34, it states:

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

    “when I will make a new covenant

with the people of Israel

    and with the people of Judah.

32 It will not be like the covenant

    I made with their ancestors

when I took them by the hand

    to lead them out of Egypt,

because they broke my covenant,

    though I was a husband to[a] them,[b]”

declares the Lord.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel

    after that time,” declares the Lord.

“I will put my law in their minds

    and write it on their hearts.

I will be their God,

    and they will be my people.

34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,

    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,

    from the least of them to the greatest,”

declares the Lord.

“For I will forgive their wickedness

    and will remember their sins no more.”

God reveals His master plan and the coming covenant that will liberate mankind from the bondage of sin, once and for all.  Jesus is to be the final sacrifice, the One who is holy, sinless and the only One who can bear the sins of the world and contractually free us from eternal damnation.  One of the exciting points to the Jeremiah prophecy is the introduction of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in verses 33-34.  During the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit came upon select people for a limited time, however, with the advent of the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit enters and permanently dwells in the believer when he/she receives the Lord.   The Holy Spirit is the one who instructs, comforts, directs (use verse to describe the Holy Spirit), which is what Jesus said prior to ascending to heaven in John 16:7: 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.  With God in us, He is the one who directs us and convicts us of our wrongdoing.  This, by the way, is a way to determine (as a measure) who’s truly saved.  If you claim to believe in God and continue to sin belligerently, without remorse, then you may want to reevaluate your spiritual status and standing with the Lord.  The second part to this prophecy is the Holy Spirit’s role in teaching us.  When we pick up the Bible and begin to read it, it’s the Holy Spirit who instructs us.  The Word of God is alive through the Holy Spirit who fill us with the Spirit and helps us to apply His words in our lives.     

Finally, Christ’s coming ushered in an era known as the Age of Grace or Dispensation of Grace.  These terms simply mean that salvation is given freely to those who will receive it.  In the Old Covenant, every act of sin required sacrifice which became an unending cycle.  Furthermore, with other religions, salvation is almost impossible to attain, as it’s an endless barrage of rules and regulations.  However, in verse 34 of Jeremiah, God states that he will once and for all forgive sin and forget it.  That is a revolutionary statement and a new direction for mankind.  Most people don’t understand that our Lord is a God of justice, and He cannot leave sin unaddressed and unpunished.  As such the proper legal response was punishment for sin.  Since God operates within His laws and never in contraction to it, therefore, Jesus was ordained by God the Father as the High Priest to accomplish this task.  Jesus is blameless, sinless and the only One who was able to bare our sins.  Jesus became the sacrificial lamb and the High Priest simultaneously and became the atonement for us our sins and our intercessor before the Father. 

Now that you know why Jesus ordained was ordained as High Priest, it’s time to receive Him as your Savior. If you are ready to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Bible says in Roman 10:9, 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  So, please pray this prayer and ensure your salvation:  Lord Jesus I know that I am sinner and I ask you forgive me of my sins.  I believe that you were crucified for my sins and through your blood I have redemption and salvation.  Please come into my heart and I receive you as my God.  I pray in Jesus name. AMEN