The Joy of Jesus as Our High Priest

Christ and the Christian

Hebrews 7:26–28 ESV

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

No matter how devoted and obedient the Aaronic priests were, they could not always meet the needs of all the people.

But Jesus Christ perfectly meets all of our needs. “For such an High Priest became us” means “He was suited to us; He meets our needs completely.”

It is a similar concept to how the woman was created as a “suitable” helpmeet.

The emphasis here is on His sinlessness.

Being perfect, He is able to exercise a perfect ministry for His people. Because of their sins, some of the Old Testament priests not only were unable to serve the people, but actually abused them.

This could never happen with Jesus Christ and His people.

The Old Testament priests were “set apart” for their ministry, so in that sense they were “holy.”

But they were not always holy in character.

They were sinners like the people to whom they ministered.

When He was ministering on earth, our Lord was a friend of publicans and sinners (Matt. 9:10; 11:19), but His contact with them did not defile His character or His conduct.

There was contact without contamination.

He was not isolated; He was separated.

There is a remarkable difference in the moral qualifications of the priests.

Those who were of the order of Aaron were not only mortal men, but sinful men, who had their sinful as well as natural infirmities; they needed to offer up sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the people.

On the annual Day of Atonement, the high priest first had to sacrifice for himself before he could sacrifice for the people (Lev. 16).

There were also daily sacrifices offered as a part of the temple ritual; and, if a priest had sinned, he had to bring a sacrifice for his own cleansing (Ex. 29:38–46; Lev. 4:3ff).

But Jesus Christ offered just one sacrifice for our sins and settled the matter forever.

Hebrews 9:23–28 ESV

23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

But our high priest, who was consecrated by the word of the oath, needed only to offer up once for the people, never at all for himself.

Let is examine the characterises of our High priest in detail.

Jesus is a Sufficient High Priest

No priest could be suitable or sufficient for our reconciliation to God but one who was perfectly righteous in his own person;

He must be righteous in himself, or he could not be a propitiation for our sin, or our advocate with the Father.

Jesus is a Holy High Priest

The Lord Jesus was exactly such a high priest as we wanted, for he has a personal holiness, absolutely perfect.

Observe the description we have of the personal holiness of Christ expressed in various terms:

Hebrews 7:26 ESV

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

Holy:

He is holy, perfectly free from all the habits or principles of sin.

Not having the least disposition to it in his nature;

No sin dwells in him, though it does in the best of Christians, not the least sinful inclination

Harmless

He is harmless, perfectly free from all actual transgression, has done no violence, nor is there any deceit in his mouth, never did the least wrong to God or man.

Undefiled

He is undefiled, he was never accessory to other men’s sins.

It is a difficult thing to keep ourselves pure, so as not to partake in the guilt of other men’s sins, by contributing in some way towards them, or not doing what we ought to prevent them.

Separate

He is separate from sinners, not only in his present state (having entered as our high priest into the holiest of all, into which nothing defiled can enter), but in his personal purity:

He has no such union with sinners, as can devolve upon him original sin.

This comes upon us by virtue of our natural union with the first Adam, we descending from him in the ordinary way.

But Christ was, by his ineffable conception in the virgin, separate from sinners; though he took a true human nature, yet the miraculous way in which it was conceived set him upon a separate footing from all the rest of mankind.

Today, He is “separate from sinners” because of His position, but He is not separated from the people to whom He ministers. He is always available to us at His throne of grace.

He is made higher than the heavens.

Many expositors have different views on this wonderful statment.

Some think this refers to his state of exaltation in heaven, at the right hand of God, to perfect the design of his priesthood.

But others think this may be very justly referred to the personal holiness of Christ, which is greater and more perfect than the holiness of the hosts of heaven, that is, the holy angels themselves, who, though they are free from sin, yet are not in themselves free from all possibility of sinning.

And therefore we read,

Job 4:18 ESV

18 Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error;

They may be angels one hour and devils another, as many of them were, but Jesus is holy and higher they all of they, being himself creator.

Conclusion

This is the kind of High Priest we need!

We are prone to sin daily, even hourly; and we need to be able to turn to Him for spiritual help.

As our High Priest, Jesus Christ gives us the grace and mercy that we need not to sin.

But if we do sin, He is our Advocate at God’s throne.

1 John 2:1–2 ESV

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.