Read and pray: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like us, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15)
As you probably already know, the Bible teaches us that Christ has three offices: prophet, priest, and king. Christ came the first time mainly as the Prophet foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18. In His earthly ministry, He spoke for God, conveyed God by speaking, taught His disciples, and prophesied.
This was His role as prophet. Then, in the last part of His earthly ministry, He began to offer Himself to God, until the moment when He finally offered Himself on the cross as a sacrifice to God for us. In this He fulfilled His role as priest. From that time onward, this has been His function.
THE FULFILLMENT OF THE EARTHLY PRIESTHOOD
In the times of Leviticus, the priests carried out two kinds of activities. The first was the offering of sacrifices to God, in the court of the tabernacle, around the altar. Once the offerings had been presented, the priests entered the Holy Place. The high priest entered the Holy of Holies. There they ministered to God on behalf of His people.
The first priestly activity typifies the earthly priesthood of Christ; the second typifies His heavenly priesthood. When Christ offered Himself to God on the cross on our behalf, He was a priest, presenting the offering on the earth in the court.
Then, after His resurrection, He entered into the third heaven, which is the Holy of Holies. There He continues to serve as the heavenly Priest. It is this second aspect of His priesthood that we will now consider.
This priesthood in the heavens is what Christ is most occupied with today. It is a very broad subject to address. The book of Hebrews deals with this matter in a very comprehensive way. Since our time here is limited to analyze the subject fully, I recommend that you read the messages of the Life-study of Hebrews that address this topic (especially messages 13, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, and 35).
OUR PRIEST BOTH DIVINE AND HUMAN
For Christ to be a priest, He must first be a man (Heb. 2:16–17). The high priest was “taken from among men” (5:1). If He had been an angel, He would not have had the slightest understanding of human problems.
Because He was chosen from among men, the priest could sympathize with the weaknesses of men. Our present High Priest, Jesus Christ, is a man!
He partook of our nature. He partook of flesh and blood. He was made like us in all things. He had to eat and drink. At times He even wept. He shed tears at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35); He wept over Jerusalem at the end of His earthly ministry (Luke 19:41); and He prayed “with strong crying and tears” (Heb. 5:7) in the garden of Gethsemane.
Even today He remains a man, a man in glory. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things like us, yet without sin” (4:15). Because He fully knows all our weaknesses and problems, He has compassion on us. Such is our High Priest as a man.
Our High Priest is also God! As a man, He can sympathize with us; but as One who is also divine, He can take care of us. In the Old Testament, the high priest Aaron could sympathize with the people; however, many times he could not help them because he was not divine.
Our High Priest, however, is not according to the order of Aaron, but of Melchizedek (5:6, 10; 6:20). There is no genealogical record of Melchizedek in Genesis (Gen. 14:18–20), so that he may be an appropriate type of Christ as the One who is eternal, in order to be our High Priest forever.
As a man, Christ knows our situation and sympathizes with us; and, as God, He is able to care for all our needs. Hallelujah for this God-man who is our High Priest!
The priesthood of Christ is “constituted not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16). Aaron was constituted high priest according to the weak letter of the law; but Christ was constituted according to the powerful element of an indestructible life.
Our High Priest is constituted of a life that cannot be defeated but conquers all. It is a life that cannot be destroyed—a life that saves to the uttermost; the life that has no end, eternal, divine, uncreated; the resurrected life that has already passed through the test of death and Hades.
Our High Priest now serves God on our behalf in the Holy of Holies. He is our Advocate in the supreme court of the heavens! He is our Representative, who presents our case before God. We are not aware of how much Christ is doing for us there. Although His redemptive work has been accomplished, His heavenly service on our behalf never ceases.
🌿 Enjoy more:
Hymn: Praise to the Lord – “His Name”
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