Sep 08 2008
Jesus and His Priestly Ministry
Jesus and His Priestly Ministry
This is one of my most favourite topics about Jesus. Ironically, it is the one I’m most dumbfounded about. I mean I enjoy listening about it but I can’t discuss my view because I have very little or nil.
As much as I enjoy learning about this topic, there are only a few people whom I find easy to understand their presentation.
So, Jesus is the great high priest. When He had finished His sacrifice on the cross the temple curtain that separated the Holy place and the Most Holy Place was ripped from top to bottom. What used to be considered the most sacred and hidden from the view of everyone is now revealed indicating it has lost its significance. The sacrificial lamb has been offered and He was hanging on the cross. No more need of a priest to ask for the forgiveness of sins. Each individual can now approach the holy throne of God with Christ as the mediator.
Hebrews 7:25 states that He always lives to intercede for them, for us. What a comforting thought. I think the best person who can relate to this is a criminal who had just been pardoned because someone else stood for him. And as long as his intercessor lives, this pardoned criminal is protected. But when the intercessor dies, the protection is stripped. But we are very blessed to have a mediator who always lives to intercede for us.
In the old sanctuary, when a person sins he brings a sacrificial lamb to transfer his sins to. And this poor, innocent lamb is then killed bearing the sins of the transgressor as a fulfilment of Romans 3:23, For the wages of sin is death. But it must be expensive in one way or the other. Not everybody had got a farm or herd. I must imagine their way of life before and comparing it now. Let’s say I seldom eat meat and if I buy the raw one it’s cheaper but I have to buy only a kilo or two once in every week. But if I sinned every week I’ve got to buy an unblemished lamb with its full price and offer it for the remission of my sins. But I don’t get to eat the meat even if it’s only the blood that is offered.
Oh, well…I must say we are far, far luckier in this case as we don’t have to buy a lamb to offer as a sacrifice for our sins. We can come directly to the Father and ask forgiveness and claim it in Jesus’s name. But are we really taking advantage of this privilege we got?
Really, we don’t have to struggle our way to forgiveness and salvation. Hebrews 10:17 says, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
Let us claim our salvation today and every single day of our life.
