JESUS, THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST

It is Finished”, Jesus cried with a loud voice and yielded up the ghost. It was the cry of triumph, which echoed into the heavens. At that very moment was heard a sharp ripping noise of the veil of the temple into twain, from the top to the bottom, which separated the “holy of holies”. The price for our redemption from sin was fully paid and the most holy place did lay open and the temple service and all the rituals associated with it became superfluous. The worshippers no longer require a high priest to sacrifice animals, but they could approach God directly through the Lord Jesus Christ. A new and living way was opened for the whole humanity for the cleansing of their sins. Extraordinary events that followed the crucifixion of Christ on the cross were that the earth did quake and the rocks rent and the graves were opened; and many of the bodies of the saints which slept arose and so on.

The office of the high priest can be traced to Aaron, the brother of Moses, of the tribe of Levi (Exodus 28:1; Numbers 18:7). The high priest had to offer a sin offering not only for the sin of the whole congregation, but for himself also (Leviticus 4:3-21). The most important duty of the high priest was to conduct the service on the day of atonement, every year. The high priest alone was allowed to enter into the most holy place inside the veil to stand before God. After making the sacrifice for himself and for the people, the high priest then brought the blood into the holy of holies and sprinkled it on the mercy seat of God's throne (Leviticus 16:14-15).

But Jesus Christ our Lord being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, entered into the holy presence of God and obtained eternal redemption for us. Unlike Aaron, who had to repeat the ritual year after year on the day of atonement, Jesus, our great High Priest by His One Sacrifice of Himself entered into the presence of God. The Lord Jesus as a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God is all sufficient to intercede on behalf of the people.

Unlike Aaronic priesthood, Lord Jesus' priesthood is unique in that He is the eternal Word, who became man, tasted death for the salvation of everyone who calls upon Him and serves as our high priest (Hebrews 2:9). Jesus is greater than any Old Testament priests and qualifies to be called “the great high priest” for numerous reasons. He is God manifested in the flesh, and by His one offering of Himself, He has perfected forever them that are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14); His priesthood is eternal (Hebrews 7:24); His sacrifice is “once for all sacrifice” and does not require to be repeated; He is a merciful and compassionate high priest; His offering was perfect and accepted of God, granting access to the sinner to enter into God's holy presence; Jesus not only fulfils the type of the Old Testament high priests but surpasses it in its scope and in His perpetuity of office.

Dear reader, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead, and confess your sins to Him, you will be saved. Behold! Now is the accepted time, now is the time of your salvation.

If you want to understand more about God’s Free Gift of Salvation in these final moments of human civilization, you could read through the several other articles in this blog archive.

- by Nadesan K.