02 A Perfect High Priest Series

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed someone to step in on your behalf? Maybe you found yourself in a legal mess and needed a lawyer who knew the system. Maybe you were traveling in a foreign country, struggling with the language, and needed a translator—just to order food. Or maybe it was something simpler—like finding yourself in a conversation where everyone else seemed to know what was going on, and you just stood there, lost … until a friend stepped in and helped you catch up.

We’ve all been there. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we need someone with access, knowledge, or authority that we don’t have.

Now, imagine needing access—not just to a courtroom or a foreign country—but to God Himself. Imagine standing outside the very presence of the Creator of the universe, knowing you don’t belong, knowing you can’t go in on your own. That was the reality for Israel.

Last week, we asked a question that cuts to the heart of our greatest need: How can sinful people dwell in the presence of a Holy God? And the reality is—we can’t. Sin doesn’t just make us imperfect; it separates us from Him completely. It breaks our relationship with God because He is holy, and we are not. So if we are ever to stand in His presence, something must be done about our sin.

That’s why God established the sacrificial system—to deal with that separation. But even with the sacrifices, even with all the rituals, the cleansings, the ceremonies, the people still couldn’t just walk into God’s presence.

The tabernacle—the place where God’s presence would dwell—was off-limits. The Most Holy Place, where God’s glory rested, was behind a thick curtain, a veil of separation. No one could enter. Except for one man—the high priest.

He was the mediator—the one chosen to stand before God on behalf of the people. But even he couldn’t just walk in. He had to go through an elaborate process of purification. In Leviticus 8, we see that he had to be consecrated—set apart. He had to offer sacrifices for his own sins before he could intercede for anyone else. And he could only enter beyond the veil once a year. One man, one day each year, entering God’s presence on behalf of an entire nation.

Think about that: millions of people dependent on the actions of one flawed, sinful man standing in God’s presence for just a few moments on a single day of the year.

And that brings us to a problem. The priests were just as unholy as the people. They could represent the people before God temporarily, but they could never bring the people into God’s presence permanently. Their sacrifices had to be repeated over and over because they could never truly take away sin. The entire system left a lingering question: "If even the high priest wasn’t truly qualified to bring people to God, who could?"

And that’s not just an Old Testament problem—that’s our problem, too. Because sin still separates us from God. And just like Israel, we can’t fix that separation on our own. We can’t just walk into the presence of God—not in our sin. We need a mediator. We need someone who is truly holy, truly sinless, truly able to bring us near.

And that’s why Jesus came.

In fact, 1 Timothy 2:5 makes it clear: "There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus" (NLT).

He didn’t just offer a sacrifice—He was the sacrifice.

He didn’t just serve as a priest—He is the eternal High Priest.

And because of who He is and what He has done, we don’t just have temporary access to God. If we are in Christ, we have permanent, eternal access to His presence.

That’s the core truth we need to hold on to today: Jesus, our perfect High Priest, secures our place in God’s presence forever.

God had given them the priesthood—a system designed to mediate between Himself and His people. But the very men chosen to represent them before God were flawed. They were meant to stand in the gap, but they carried the same weaknesses, the same struggles, and the same sin as everyone else.

And that’s where we need to begin today:

I. The Corruption of Earthly Priests (Lev. 8-10; Heb. 5:1-4)

Before we dive into this first point, let’s turn to God’s Word to set the foundation. First, we’ll read Leviticus 8:1-12, where God establishes the priesthood through Aaron and his sons. Then, we’ll read Hebrews 5:1-4, which helps us understand both their role and their limitations.

Let’s begin with Leviticus 8:1-12.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread, and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” So Moses did just as the Lord commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the tent of meeting, Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded to do.”