Jesus the Priest, part 5

When we cry out for forgiveness, He shows us grace. When we stand before Him in prayer, He gives us His ear, all because our Priest, Jesus Christ, bridged the gap of sin between us and God. We don’t come before God’s Throne of Judgment and wrath. No, because we have a High Priest in Jesus, we come before a Throne of Grace - grace which forgives our sins through love. We don’t receive the punishment we deserve; we receive mercy and grace (which we can never deserve), to help us in our time of need. 
 

Furthermore, we will be able to live forever with God because Jesus made a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Once a year, the high priest would go to the Temple and make a sacrifice for the sins of the people. That was God’s plan - until, Jesus came - but it was not much of a sacrifice. The sacrifice was simply not enough. 

No, it was not enough because there is no way that a goat could take the place of a man on the altar. And there was certainly no way that a goat could cover the sins of an entire nation. The only sacrifice that is suitable to replace a child of God is a perfect human. There has only been one perfect human, and we celebrate His birth this and every Christmas. Not only was Jesus the perfect Priest, He was Himself the perfect sacrifice for us (an idea we will look more at in a couple of weeks). 
 

Let me try and wrap all this up with this truth: Jesus has not laid down His duties of the Great High Priest. A priest serves as a connection between God and His people.

I’m not a priest like in the Old Testament, but as a pastor I serve as a connection between God and the people of God. When you make a covenant of marriage before God, a pastor stands before you to receive your vows. When you repent and are baptized, a pastor lowers you into the water. When I pray for the congregation, I am speaking to God on behalf of the congregation. The Old Testament priest lifted up prayers and made sacrifices to fulfill the terms of the covenant between God and God’s people; this is what a priest does. 

Jesus, our Great High Priest, is still fulfilling the role of the Priest, even though He has ascended into heaven. He is still making a connection between you and God. Hebrews 4:7 says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission.” God heard Jesus because Jesus was God’s own Son, who was obedient in every way. Today, Jesus still lifts up prayers and petitions, but He does so on behalf of those who have called upon His Name.

I am always encouraged when one of you tells me that you are praying for me as your pastor. I am also struck by the importance that you place in me, praying for you as a church. Now, think about how much greater it is to know that we have an Advocate in heaven praying for us, interceding for us, and lifting up our petitions before God. We have a High Priest in heaven who can understand when we trip up, when we fall back into sin, when we are tired and discouraged, when we let our humanity get the better of us. He understands, because He’s stood where we are standing now, only He did it without sin. 

Jesus came to the earth as the Babe in the manger. He came as the Prophet, speaking the Words of God so that we would know how to live. And He also came as the Great High Priest, willing to intervene for us before God, covering our sins with the sacrifice of His very own life.

We now have a High Priest in heaven who knows what it is like to be human, He has made a way for us to stand before God, and He intercedes for us even now as we draw closer to God. We can hold firmly to the faith that we profess because we know that we have a Priest in heaven, One who knows us and loves us anyway. 

Have you trusted in Jesus as your Priest yet? He stands ready at this moment to go before the Father on your behalf seeking forgiveness for your sins. All you need to do is what I did all those years ago: ask Him, in a prayer of repentance, and He will.  END