Our High Priest

"I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. For I said, 'Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.; You have said, 'I Have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 'I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.''"
- Psalms 89:1-4

Sin is part of humanity. Paul couldn't rid himself of sin as he talks of in Romans 7, nor could Moses, Jonah, Aaron, and every other person who has lived. We run into a problem here: who is to intercede for us? In the Old Testament, the High Priest would intercede for the Israelites in order to propitiate God's wrath against them. This raises an even more serious question: how did a sinful man intercede for sinful man and successfully propitiate God's wrath against sinful man? Before a judge, can  a known murderer step in to defend another murderer? Sinful man is not adequate to intercede for sinful man.

Just as Hebrews 5:1 points out, it was the job of the High Priest to offer sacrifices for the peoples sins (the day of Atonement). "For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." Did sinful man actually satisfy God's wrath against sinful man? No, the use of a high priest was God's way of explaining the future role of Christ in redemption. We have a High Priest who is sinless and is therefore adequate to intercede for sinful man. "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession" (Hebrews 4:14).

However, people do not only want a high priest to intercede for their sins, but a high priest who also sympathizes with them for their transgressions. For what high priest will intercede for sins if temptation is not experienced by the priest himself? Do not be grieved my friends, for we have a high priest who has experienced temptation, and can indeed sympathize with us. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). Someone is thinking to themselves "was Jesus really tempted if he couldn't have sinned because of his Godly nature?" The question then is, could Jesus have sinned? Yes, technically speaking, he was a human and had the ability to sin. Would Jesus have sinned? No, because he understood the things of God and knows the evil of sin. A person will only sin once they have convinced themselves it is acceptable, this is something Jesus wouldn't have done knowing the truth.

Hebrews goes on to say, "Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered" (5:8). Did I write that correctly? Jesus had to learn to be obedient? Is that true? Many times, this passage is taken to mean that Jesus learned to be obedient to God the Father and his wishes, but within the context of the passage, it means something else. The passage says he "learned obedience through what he suffered." This indicates that he didn't learn to be obedient to God, for he knew how, but he learned what the cost of being obedient to God was: suffering. He didn't learn how to obey God, but he experienced and came to understand the cost of doing so.

On the cross, Jesus cried out "Father, forgive them." He was talking about me and you, believers and obedient followers of Christ. He was interceding for when me and you nailed him to that cross. He continues to intercede today when we pick up the nails once again. The Spirit is with us to halt us and put down the nails, and Jesus is there for when we nail him once more to the cross. These are sorrowful but joyful truths. Rejoice that Jesus is our high priest; rejoice that he has overcome the world; and rejoice that you can return, in the end, to your true identity in Christ. Sinful man does not intercede for you any longer, sinless man who became sinful man does. Remember these things as you walk through your day. Spirit of God be with you and our High Priest Jesus Christ watch over you.