Having to repeat the same task over and over again can get to be a nuisance. Hang a picture upon the wall, and we don’t want to keep coming back day after day to rehang it because the hook keeps coming out. It would be nice if our floors would stay clean. Mop them once and be done with it for good! Same with our clothes and dishes. We don’t like to have to keep cleaning them, and keep cleaning them. We want to hang the picture and it stays put, clean the item and it stays clean. In the spiritual realm people would want to come to the priest for forgiveness, and then stay forgiven, not having to keep coming back and keep coming back. In our portion of Scripture today from the Book of Hebrews we read how this is possible.
In the Old Testament, every time a Jewish person would sin, they would need to go to the priest, and bring an offering, a sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sins. The priest would take it, make the sacrifice, and the person was forgiven from their sin. This would be repeated over and over again, all throughout the person’s life. Also, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would bring a sacrifice into the Holy of Holies, offering that sacrifice upon the altar for the sins of the whole nation. This was done every year, year after year after year. The High Priest, and all of the priests would need to make sacrifices, not only for the people, but also for themselves, as well. There was never one sacrifice that would do it all, one sacrifice that would take care of everything, once and for all. That is, not until Jesus.
The blood of bulls and goats could never truly atone for mankind’s sins (Hebrews 10:4), which is why the sacrifices needed to be done over and over again. The Old Testament priests were also sinners, who had to make sacrifices for themselves on an ongoing basis. We needed a sacrifice from someone who had never sinned, and that could only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, alone, has made the only true atonement for sin upon the cross. He did not have to atone for His own sins because He never sinned (vs. 26-27). Because of this, Jesus only needed to atone for us once, not many times. He saves us once for all.
Jesus is the perfect high priest. Unlike the human high priests, He is completely holy, innocent of having ever committed sin. Jesus’s death upon the cross atoned for all sins - past, present, and future, making no further sacrifices necessary. We don’t have to look for another way to have our sins forgiven, and repeat that over and over again. Jesus Christ was the final sacrifice for us. Unlike what some people falsely teach and believe, Jesus did not become a sinner on the cross. Rather, He was the sin-offering (vs. 26). Now He is seated at the right hand of the Father, the most exalted position in heaven or earth.
Every Old Testament priest, including the High Priest, would eventually die, and a new priest would need to step in the position. By the time of Jesus, there had been at least several dozen High Priests since the time of Aaron. Jesus is eternal, and His priestly office is eternal and unchangeable (vs. 24).
Jesus’s death opened the way for us to have immediate, unhindered admittance to the Father’s presence. When Jesus finished His work in making the final priestly sacrifice, the veil in the Temple, which closed off the Holy of Holies from man, was torn in two (Mark 15:38). This symbolized the spiritual truth that access to God was now open to all who believe. Through the Holy Spirit we have the right to talk to God directly without a human intermediary (Ephesians 2:18). Jesus says to ask for what we need, and gives us authority to enter the throne room at any time, and speak with the Father.
Everyone who trusts Jesus, has the Savior praying for them. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, where He intercedes for us (vs. 25). What a blessed truth, knowing that Jesus is praying for me! When the storms get rough and the clouds get dark, Jesus is praying for us! When temptations come, Jesus is praying for us! We don’t have to worry about our future since Jesus is going to the Father on our behalf! We will overcome whatever it is that is confronting us right now, for Jesus is praying for us.
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