Jesus Christ, Our Great High-priest Ex 29:1-21; 38-46
4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high-priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession
After his digression, warning the Hebrews not to harden their hearts through unbelief like their ancestors the writer returns to his main topic–the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. This is particularly welcome after the solemn warning about falling in the wilderness through unbelief.
He had already used the term High-priest twice (2:7; 3:1) and there are 14 other references in this book, most refer to Jesus. The term great high-priest appears only in this verse, but high-priest appears 77 times in the Bible. Only ¼ (21) are in the OT and surprisingly only 4 in the Pentateuch – including 2 in one verse. In contrast you can find it 41 times in the gospels and Acts – most of these relate to the arrest and trial of Jesus or the persecution of the early church.
Deep down in the heart of men there is a strong, instinctive need for a priest, to be a mediator – to stand between God and man. All over the world, throughout human history people have chosen one person, set apart from ordinary work by special rites, to plead at their god’s altars, interceding for humanity in times of war, famine, pestilence, and plague. Only in the last few decades in the wealthy, well educated West have we risen above this innate desire. Even then here large parts of our population worship in mosques and temples, while others worship at shrines of turf, telly or concert!
This craving was carefully met in the practices in which these Hebrew Christians had been reared. The sons of Aaron were the priests of Israel. They wore a special dress, ate special food, and lived in special towns; whilst every care was taken to emphasise their separation to the spiritual business of the nation. The key tasks of a priest were reconciliation and mediation: the first involved the myriad sacrifices; the other involved the priests representing men before God. Even the Hebrew term for priest (Kohen) has the root-meaning of ‘one who stands up for another, and mediates in his cause.’ Given the number of Cohens today, I guess there must have been a lot of priests!
The priests and the Levites were set apart – sanctified – from the rest of Israel to serve God. Like the offerings, priests had to be free of physical blemishes and diseases – to emphasise their holiness. This sanctification or holiness was also symbolised by a gold-plate which the high-priest wore on his forehead: You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: holiness to the Lord Ex 28:36
For sixteen centuries this system had prevailed and it was very hard for these new converts to wrench themselves away, and accept a religion in which there was no visible temple, ceremonial, or priest. (Many still can’t cope without this pomp and ritual today.) The writer’s main point is that Jesus Christ is the perfect answer to these instincts which really pointed to Him anyway. Aaron and his sons were the priests and high-priests of Israel, but Jesus is not just a priest, or even a high priest. He is our Great High-Priest!
We no longer need human priests. Their work is done, their office is superseded and their functions are at an end. He has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father Rev 1:6. DV. As priests our work involves offering the incense of prayer and praise, and the gift of surrendered lives. We have nothing to do with atonement for sin – except that we need it to deal with our own sins. We are priests; He is our Great High-priest. All other priests and high-priests were and are inferior. Let’s look at the reasons for His superiority in this verse. In months to come we pick off some of the others covered in this wonderful book.
He has passed through the heavens
This is an apt description for His whole nature is stamped with heavenliness. He communicates the purity, the power and the life of heaven to us.
The inner part of the Tabernacle, and later the temple, was split in two. The outer part was called the holy place and every day priests offered sacrifices and performed their other tasks there. Beyond that was the inner shrine, the Holy of Holies. These two areas were separated by a curtain or veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim Ex 26:31. This kept out everyone but the high-priest, and he was only allowed in after careful preparation and even then, only once each year. As the high-priest of old entered God’s presence by passing through that curtain so, after His death and resurrection, Jesus entered God’s presence by passing through the heavens.
The scarlet thread reminds me that He shed His own blood for me. The blue that He ascended beyond the blue sky and the purple thread reminds me that He resumed His rightful, royal place at the Father’s right hand as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. After His ascension He took up his position in heaven as our, Mediator and Intercessor – more of this later. The cherubim remind me of God’s infinite holiness, which separates us sinners from God. Jesus satisfied God’s holy standards on our behalf, through His sinless life and sacrificial death. When He died the veil, or curtain, of the temple was torn in two, showing that He had opened the way for us, the only way into God’s presence.
The ancient high-priest passed through a curtain in fear and trembling; Jesus ascended into heaven with joy and acclamation. The high-priest carefully replaced the curtain as he left to hide the mysteries of the holy of holies, Jesus tore it away. The one high-priest alone, the other opened the way for us to follow.
Jesus the Son of God
The name Jesus reminds me of His humanity, but most of all that He came to become our Saviour. The most important work of the high-priest is the cleansing, or the putting away of sin. The title Son of God reminds me that He was and is God as well as man. How could we have a better high-priest? Jesus is the both the perfect sacrifice and the perfect one to represent us. We have touched on Jesus as the Son of God previously and we’ll see more of Him as the perfect sacrifice and understanding representative later in our studies.
We have a great High-priest
It is good to that Jesus is a great High-priest role. The Jews were rightly very proud of the OT priesthood, but our great High-priest infinitely surpasses it. All that was said of the Aaronic priesthood, and all the pictures that it painted for us, were fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. His blood, sacrifice and intercession are infinitely greater than those of the Jewish high-priest.
But this verse is much more personal than that – we have a great high-priest. There is all the difference in the world between reading about a great lawyer or financial advisor, and what they have achieved for their clients, and having them as your own representative – working on your behalf. How much more wonderful it is that we have a great high-priest. He is ours! We may call upon His help at any time. We can trust Him for all we need to bring us to God and to guide us through this life. Truly He is the great – the ultimate, high-priest. What could be better than to be represented by one who, as man, fully understands us? Yet we also have on our side God’s beloved Son who is now in heaven, at His father’s right hand! Perhaps to be represented by the one who also loved us unto death!
Before we pass on, it is important to be sure that Jesus is ours. Do you know Him as your Saviour and high-priest today? If not, you risk so much and are missing out on so much.
Let us hold fast our confession.
Bearing all of this in mind how should we behave? Seeing then that we have a great High-priest …let us hold fast our confession. Why would the Jewish believers want to turn back? Why would they settle for the shadows of the OT rather than the substance and reality of Jesus the Son of God? Why would we? Let us never neglect the great salvation that He brings us or drift away from Him. (Heb 2) Let us hold on tight to the one that we have confessed to be our Lord and Saviour, knowing that He will never let us down. The very Son of God became Man and, after His victory at Calvary returned to the presence of God where He is ever ready to defend and help us. How this should encourage us to live for Him in all things.
