Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession: Jesus; – Hebrews 3:1 NASB20 

What is the role of a Priest, in general, and the High Priest in particular?

In the Father’s plan for Israel, the priest was tasked with mediating between God and man. Sinful man could not approach Holy God without a covering, without an atoning sacrifice. So God instituted the sacrificial system to cover the people’s sin for the year so men and women could continue to come to God.

God took the priest’s role very seriously. Over and over the priests would allow their position to go to their heads, and would begin to exploit the people they were supposed to be representing before God.

Check out this indictment from Jeremiah,

“For from the least of them to the greatest of them, 
Everyone is greedy for gain, 
And from the prophet to the priest
Everyone deals falsely. 
They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, 
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ 
But there is no peace. 
Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done? 
They were not ashamed at all, 
Nor did they know even how to be ashamed. 
Therefore they will fall among those who fall; 
At the time that I punish them, 
They will collapse,” says the LORD. – 

Jeremiah 6:13-15 NASB20

The priests and prophets were looking at God’s people as a profit center instead of seeing them as sheep who needed care. They cared for their own needs, and let the flock do without.

The high priest was supposed to offer a once-a-year offering to the Lord on the Day of Atonement. Atonement means covering. The idea was that once a year the nation could come together and repent, and the man of God would come to God with the offering He prescribed, and the sins of the nation would be covered.

One thing you might not realize. Atonement is an Old Testament concept. Jesus was the sacrifice for sin, but instead of once a year, He gave Himself once for all. Instead of covering sins, and keeping them out of God’s line of sight, Jesus washed us from our sins by His blood. Our sins are not covered, they were washed away as if they never existed. God is Good!

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:11 NKJV

and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, – Revelation 1:5 NKJV

Even Ezekiel prophesied of the New Covenant as being one of washing not of covering.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. – Ezekiel 36:25-26 NASB20

Jesus is our great High Priest. He is also the offering for our sins. He broke down the wall of separation keeping us from approaching the Father. The wall–that three-foot thick veil–God ripped in two from top to bottom. 

Hallelujah – What a Savior!

More on this next time

Walk in the light,

Ben

By the way, if you would like to go back and see the beginning of Hebrews, the whole series is here on this page.