Heaven Came Down

INTRO

GOD

A multitude of camels shall cover you,

the young camels of Midian and Ephah;

all those from Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense,

and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord

(Is 60:6).

The gifts point to good news!

We think of God in categories. It can be helpful. That is what this series is about- letting us understand God better by putting him into some categories of our lives. Last week we looked at God as King. Today I want to look at God as a priest.

This category is already in place for those who grew up in Catholic and other belief systems, but for some it isn’t something we interact with daily.

I know of many catholics that wouldn’t bother reading or praying directly to God because they needed a priest to intercede for them. They

  One Category: He is our High Priest

In our text today we have one of those Old Testament categories for understanding who Jesus is and what he came to do, namely, the category of “high priest.” Hebrews 4:14:

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.

Now there are no high priests around today. So this is a category for understanding Jesus that is foreign to us. But God planned centuries of history with Israel, recorded in the Old Testament, so that we would have a context for understanding this category. That means he thinks it is really important. We would impoverish ourselves and swerve from the truth if we said, “Well, that’s too old-fashioned and irrelevant for today. Nobody knows what a high priest is; so let’s just translate Jesus into one of our familiar categories, say, defense attorney.”1

INTRO TO IDEA

The office of high priest was instituted by God. We learn from the Old Testament that God, through Moses, instructed His people to recognize one person in the community as the high priest. And there was a purpose to the position. It wasn’t so that the high priest could wear some fancy clothes and do some things no one else could do. While the high priest wore unique garments and performed unique rituals, there was a purpose to all that uniqueness. Here’s what the Lexham Bible Dictionary says about it:

The Lexham Bible Dictionary High Priests in the Old Testament

In the Old Testament, the primary purpose of the high priest was to serve as a representative and mediator between the people and Yahweh.

The high priest oversaw that the covenant of God was enforced.

The high priest was hereditary. You had to have a father who was a priest. Jesus is obviously the best choice for this as well.

Mediation - acting as a representative of God to the people and as a representative of the people to God - was the purpose God had in commanding that the position of high priest be created. Travel back in time to the days of the Exodus recorded in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. God, in fulfillment of promises made to the patriarchs of Israel brought the people out of Egypt and dwelt in their midst. He instructed them to built a tabernacle at the center of the camp as the place of his presence. But the only direct access they could have came through this mediator/representative in their midst. The average Simeon or Reuben could not just barge into the holy of holies to seek the presence of God. To do so would have been to bring upon themselves the judgment of God. For centuries the people of God lived with the eternal God as their next door neighbor. But their relationship with him was a mediated relationship. It was all made possible because of the high priest who was appointed to act on behalf of men in relationship to God.

We need to ask the question, why does the author of this New Testament letter spend the better part of five chapters talking about the office of high priest? The answer is that the primary purpose of a high priest remains in the new era that Christ Jesus brought in. In other words, God still requires that sinful humans have a mediator to represent Him to them and them to Him for us to have a relationship with Him.

English Standard Version Numbers 35:25–26

25 And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it iuntil the death of the high priest jwho was anointed with the holy oil. 26

the death of the high priest would free a manslayer.

High Priest in ancient times: Sprinkled blood on the tabernacle. Key Idea. The high priest was in the Holy of Holies and the blood wasn’t made on behalf of the people, it was sprinkled around to clean it. Why? So that God’s presence could dwell in the midst of His people. This is what He wants. God wants to be in our presence.

The High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, which was separated by a thick veil or curtain. They would tie a rope around him because if he had not atoned for his sin properly and approached God without sacrificing, He would not leave the holy of holies. it was not safe for people to enter into the presence of God because of their sin.

A special degree of holiness was required of the high priest (Lev. 10:6, 9; 21:10–15). This meant he had to avoid defilement by contact with the dead, even in the case of his own parents, and was forbidden to show any outward sign of mourning. He could not leave the sanctuary precincts. Such legislation identified the high priest as one totally dedicated to the Lord, always ritually pure and ready to serve the Lord.If the high priest sinned, he brought guilt upon the whole people (Lev. 4:3). The sin offering for the high priest (Lev. 4:3–12) was identical to that required “if the whole congregation of Israel commits error” (4:13–21 NASB).

High priest’s sin brought guilt on all the people

Jesus was the great High priest because he had actually “passed through the heavens.” That is, He is divine. He is God.

15 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.

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

English Standard Version (Hebrews 10:19–23)

19 Therefore, brothers,3 since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful

This is a good ender. Jesus as high priest allows us to enter the presence of God and have assurance!