Our High Priest

Our High Priest

It says about Jesus, “And having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Heb. 10:21-23. Here we see that the promises we have are tied to the High Priest. Which promises? The promises that we can partake of divine nature. 2 Pet. 1:3-4.

How great, then, is Jesus? He is so great that He, just like the children, partook of flesh and blood, and because He has suffered and was tempted, He can come to the aid of those who are tempted. Heb. 2:14-18.

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Because we have such a High Priest, we can boldly come to the throne of grace and receive grace for help at the right time. Heb. 4:14-16.

The religious world does not have such a High Priest. Their High Priest did not partake of flesh and blood like we do. Therefore He could not sympathize with our weaknesses; neither could He be tempted in all things as we are. Then He could not have gained this tremendous victory of being without sin in His temptations with a flesh like ours. And because they do not have such a High Priest, they do not have the boldness before the throne of grace to pray for grace to overcome as He overcame. Rev. 3:21. They do not have any more boldness than they had under the Levitical priesthood, which was to pray for forgiveness for their sins.

The Levitical priests entered into a copy of the heavenly places, but only with the blood of another, which could sanctify them solely for the purifying of the flesh. However, Jesus went into the Most Holy Place with His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. Heb. 9:11-14, 24.

The Levites became priests according to a fleshly commandment because they were born of the tribe of Levi. On the other hand, Jesus is descended from the tribe of Judah and was called High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek due to the power of an endless life, “who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God.”

Seeing that He had a flesh like we have, He had to be sacrificed in order not to sin. “Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him . . . .” Heb. 5:7-9.

We have such a great High Priest who lived in the days of His flesh just like we. Therefore He can have compassion with our weaknesses and come to our aid, saving to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, seeing that He always lives to make intercession for them. Heb. 7:25. “Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens . . . .” Ch. 8:1. “Such” a One partook of flesh and blood as the children, descended from the tribe of Judah, learned obedience by the things which He suffered, and consecrated the new and living way through the veil, which is His flesh. He is the guarantor of the new covenant and also the Mediator of better promises so that we, too, can partake of divine nature. It is the Man Christ Jesus who is the Mediator between God and men. 1 Tim. 2:5. It is He who sits at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in order to intercede for us. He is not only the atoning sacrifice, as the religious world likes to have Him, but He is also our High Priest so we can follow Him on this way: learning obedience by the things we suffer instead of sinning when we suffer. He entered the Presence as our forerunner, having become High Priest forever. Heb. 6:19-20. He can perform His high priestly ministry for us if we are an acceptable sacrifice to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Rom. 15:16.

Therefore, seeing that we have “such” a High Priest, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.