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Christ as the High Priest is the theme for our reflection. A high priest in Judaism is the chief religious functionary in the Temple of Jerusalem, whose unique privilege was to enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement, to burn incense and sprinkle sacrificial animal blood to expiate his own sins and those of the people of Israel. Jesus is regarded as the High Priest because of two important facts which we shall reflect on.

First, Christ is our High Priest because He offered Himself as the sacrifice of atonement to save us from the condemnation of the law which is the sign of the old covenant. The new covenant saved us from sin and death thereby replacing the old covenant which was premised on the fulfilment of the Law. The new covenant is premised on repentance, having faith in our Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour and receiving His forgiveness and grace. The sacrifice of atonement could not have been done by any human being apart from Jesus since He was without sin or any form of blemish. “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord…For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people…For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:7-10, 12-13). Jesus is the fulfilment of God’s law therefore when we have a personal relationship with Him under the new covenant, the law shall be in our minds and hearts, Jesus assures us that “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:25-26) The Holy Spirit will strengthen us to follow the perfect examples of Christ in pleasing God.

Second, Jesus is the High Priest because He is the only Mediator who comes from the Holy of Holies which is the Kingdom of God, a place holier than the holy of holies in the temple where the high priest of the old covenant enters to offer sacrifices to mediate between God and the people. “Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man…But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. Hebrews 8:2,6)

In summary, Jesus is our High Priest because He offered Himself as the only and priceless atoning sacrifice to save us from sin and death thereby ushering us into a new covenant of repentance, faith and grace which has made the old covenant of the law obsolete. Again, He is our High Priest because He continues to mediate or intercede on our behalf at the Holy of Holies at the right hand of God the Father.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, thank you for saving us from the wrath and condemnation of the law and making us beneficiaries of a new covenant of mercy and grace where you our High Priest have offered your body as an atoning sacrifice and continue to mediate on our behalf at the right hand of God the Father. May You return to find us worthy of your Holy Holies which is our eternal home. Amen.