Jesus Our High Priest
“High priest” can be found over 40 times in the Old and New Testaments before we get to the book of Hebrews, where for the first time Jesus is mentioned as our high priest.
In fact, Hebrews is the only book in the New Testament to contain this truth. That got me thinking about something Pastor Ben said: “We have to ask the Bible questions. We have to think critically.”
Why was it important in Hebrews to identify Jesus as our high priest for the first time? The audience of the book of Hebrews certainly knew what a high priest was, for they were mostly Jewish. Some began to question whether Jesus was the Messiah and considered going back to their Jewish faith.
Hebrews 2:9-18 is about how Jesus’ death turned death into glory. So how does this “high priest” idea fit in? Why is it so important?
The Jews knew they couldn’t approach God directly. In fact, in everything relating to God, the high priest represented them. He was responsible for making atonement for the sins of the people by making sacrifices on their behalf. Once each year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies and presented the blood on the mercy seat on behalf of the entire nation. There was no other way for the Jewish people to be cleansed from their sins.
In fact, if anyone else ever entered the Holy of Holies, or even if the high priest went in on any other day of the year, it meant immediate death (Lev. 16:2). Indeed, the high priest was one of the most important people in Israel. He was responsible for the spiritual welfare of the entire nation.
“A fresh set of eyes.” That’s how we were encouraged to look at this passage. As I read it again and again, I began to understand how the Jews must have felt the first time they heard the news: Jesus is the high priest who offered His blood once and for all so that there is never again a need for continuing sacrifices on their behalf.
Wow! When I really try to put myself in the shoes of the Jewish listeners, I can only imagine the overwhelming freedom and relief they must have felt! Their whole lives revolved around sin and sacrifices. This news surely turned their world upside down!
What other roles did the high priests play? In addition to atoning for the sins of the people, they were required to help the miserable, fallen and oppressed. Therefore, a high priest needed to be merciful. As John Calvin stated, “It is a rare thing for those who are always happy to sympathize with the sorrows of others. Therefore, whenever any evils pass over us, let it ever occur to us, that nothing happens to us but what the Son of God has himself experienced in order that he might sympathize with us; nor let us doubt but that he is present with us as though he suffered with us.”
What a beautiful truth! While Jesus didn’t need to suffer in order to be compassionate and merciful, He chose to suffer: FOR us and WITH us. And He invites us to draw near to Him in our every need so that He can comfort and empathize with us; so He can remind us that we are His chosen family.
By His death and resurrection, Jesus overcame the chains of death – for us. And His death also broke the chains of fear, condemnation, guilt and shame. He knows all our sin. He takes it as His own. He welcomes us into His family. Indeed, there is no reason to fear. Can you imagine how the Jewish listeners must have felt hearing this? Those who lives were marked with frequent reminders of their sin and separation from God and their inability to do anything about it on their own?
Jesus is the high priest who intercedes for us by offering Himself as the perfect and final sacrifice once and for all eternity. He is the high priest who covers our sins, brings glory to death and reconciles us into fellowship with our Father God. That is the Good News of the Gospel shared with a few that has transformed the world.
There is a lot of theology in these 9 verses in Hebrews. Perhaps it can be summed up in the familiar children’s song that goes like this: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” May the love of Jesus given in His death and resurrection radically mark our lives and change death into glory for us all as we live and share His Good News!
~ Nicole Bryan has been a member of LIFE Fellowship for over 10 years and will graduate from Dallas Theological Seminary in May with a M.A. in Biblical Studies. She and her husband Callan have three children.