Jesus as Our High Priest

Jesus as Our High Priest

We read that Jesus that He learned obedience by the things which He suffered, and after He was perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. Heb. 5:7-10.

These words speak about a salvation through obedience. We simply cannot obey God if we are not converted. We must first hear about being reconciled through the death of God’s Son. However, after we have been reconciled, we shall be saved much more by His life. Rom. 5:10. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God who bore the sins of the world. This is how Jesus is known best. He is deeply loved by many as a sin offering. They only know about being reconciled through Jesus’ death whereby they can receive forgiveness for their sins. Nevertheless, we know very well that after we have received forgiveness for our sins and have been reconciled to God, we still have a self-will, a self-life that is at variance with God. The “much more” salvation by Jesus’ life denotes the death of our self-will and self-life. This is the salvation that is brought about through obedience. In this connection Jesus is our High Priest. Then we find something in us that needs to be sacrificed. We know, too, when God’s will is made known to us, that something has to be put to death so we can carry it out. If I disobey God’s will and let my will reign, I sin and must have forgiveness. Then Jesus becomes a sin offering for me, but the intention was that I should also have Him as my High Priest. He becomes my High Priest when I am willing to be sacrificed—give up my self-will and obey Him—on each point. The apostle had much to say about this, but it was hard to explain since they had become dull of hearing.

We recognize the same state of affairs in these days. People become dull of hearing when you want to lead them to the obedience of faith. They rejoice over the fact that Jesus died for them, but they do not want to die with Him. They do not love Jesus as their High Priest who points out the sacrifices in their lives. We partake of this “much more salvation” by Jesus’ life, by His high priestly ministry. Then we partake of divine nature and are transformed into His image. We shall walk in His steps who did not commit sin and said, “Not My will, but Yours, be done.” 1 Pet. 2:21-22.

The human will received its deathblow in Christ, and God’s will was done to perfection in Him. In the days of His flesh this cost Him vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death. All of mankind’s salvation was at stake. He would not have broken the chains of death if He had done His own will. He strove until His sweat ran down like drops of blood, saying, “Not My will, but Yours, be done.” On the cross He could say, “It is finished!” Therefore He became the author of salvation to all those who are willing to go the same way. He is called “High Priest.” He sacrificed everything; there was nothing left to sacrifice. Now He begins His high priestly ministry and points out the sacrifices in our life. If we are willing, we become priests. 1 Pet. 2:9. We become servants of Christ. You cannot become a priest any other way. When a priest proclaims the Word of God, sacrifices are always being pointed out. People think that this is hard and unloving; yet the entire ministry of Christ has the sacrifice of the self-life—the death of our self-will—as its goal, so that the life of Christ can be revealed in us.

Paul had received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among the Gentiles. Rom. 1:5. He was among them as a sacrificial servant of Jesus Christ, a steward of the gospel of God, and a priest, that the Gentiles might be an acceptable sacrifice, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Rom. 15:16-17. His ministry was before God. He would not have been a servant of Christ if He had sought to please men. Gal. 1:10.

Those who want to please men only preach Jesus as a sin offering. They spare all the self-life in man that should be sacrificed, attempting to cover it up with the blood of Christ instead. Therefore it is quite common for them to sing, “Under the blood, under the blood.” This is what people like; therefore they call it “love.” On the other hand, if a servant of Christ—a sacrificial priest—comes along and casts light on the self-life, they call out, “Do not judge, Jesus has done everything; we shall not do anything!”

Paul could say, “Follow me, as I follow Christ.” The sacrifices that he pointed out as a servant of Christ had been pointed out and offered in his own life first. He was an example; he was acquainted with the battles they had to fight, just as Christ was an example for Paul and was aware of the battles he had to fight. Paul could comfort them with the comfort with which he had been comforted. Those who only preach Christ as a sin offering cannot say, “Follow me!” They say, “Do not look at me, but look at Jesus!” This can sound humble, but in actual fact it is stubbornness. They do not want to deny themselves, and so they do not do God’s will. They do not want to follow in Jesus’ steps who said, “Not My will, but Yours, be done.” Consequently, the life of Jesus is not revealed in them. They have not become partakers of the “much more salvation by Jesus’ life.” They stand in the same place, being reconciled by His death, but they do not enter onto the way that He consecrated in His life. The flesh is a constant, thick veil to them, which hinders them from serving God. Jesus sanctified a new and living way through the veil. Heb. 10:20. On this way we suffer death according to the flesh and are made alive according to the spirit. This is the narrow way that leads to life, on which few walk. Those who walk on it are circumcised; they serve in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh. Phil. 3:3.