WHY NEED A HIGH PRIEST?
Some think that the idea or mention of High priest should not even be associated with the New Covenant at all, because they believe that since the New Testament Epistles inform us that we are not under the law of Moses, therefore we have nothing to do with any High priest under the New Covenant. Thinking this way is a total misconception. On the contrary, the book of Hebrews points out in several instances that Jesus our Messiah is our High Priest. (Heb 2:17; 3:1; 4:14,15; 5:10; 6:20; 7:26, 27; 8:1; 9:11)
If this be true, and it is, it is then very pertinent for us to study the High Priesthood of Jesus under this New Covenant, so that we can understand and appreciate the role that Jesus continues to play for us now in heaven, in His present-day ministry as our High Priest. Knowing this will also enable us to release our faith to enjoy all the benefits that this office holds for us as the Body of Christ.
The Dake annotated reference Bible tells us that Jesus is called High Priest fifteen times in the epistle to the Hebrews. (Dake Bible, page 431, column-one, note g).
Jesus' office as High Priest is too significant to be ignored, yet this is what so many Christians are doing.
The Universal Coverage and Benefit
of Jesus High Priesthood
The scriptures reveal that the Father had to raise another High Priest who is not after the Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood, but of the Melchizedek Priesthood (Heb 7: 11-17).
The question is why would God abolish the Aaronic Priesthood if that was a perfect priesthood? Abolishing the Aaronic Priesthood was the indication that it was an imperfect system, and incompatible with the new system that God was then about to introduce. The old Priesthood fell short of what God wanted, so He abolished it for the following reasons:
The question is why would God abolish the Aaronic Priesthood if that was a perfect priesthood? Abolishing the Aaronic Priesthood was the indication that it was an imperfect system, and incompatible with the new system that God was then about to introduce. The old Priesthood fell short of what God wanted, so He abolished it for the following reasons:
- The Levitical or Aaronic Priesthood could never bring perfection. It was incapable of achieving God's purpose for man. It couldn't solve the sin problem (Heb 7:11)
- Another limitation of the Aaronic Priesthood, for which God had to change it, was that it was restricted only to the Jewish nation. It had no universal coverage. It could not cater for the whole world. It could not represent the whole of humanity. It excluded the Gentile nations. It was strictly for the Jewish nation. But God knew that humanity needed to have a priesthood that would cover for everyone, every family, every nation on the earth, not just the Jews.
Paul declares that God had to take away the first priesthood, so as to establish the second. (Hebrew 10: 9).
Jesus' High Priesthood is superior to the Aaronic Priesthood because;
- It brought perfection (Heb 10:14)
- It solved the sin problem once for all, forever. (Hebrew 9:26; 10:12)
- It has universal coverage. It caters to the whole world. It represents and addresses the needs of the whole of mankind (Jews and Gentiles).
Jesus The Greatest High Priest Ever
The Scriptures clarify that Jesus is the greatest of all High Priests. Someone might be wondering, in what way(s) is Jesus the greatest of all high priests. He is greater than all other high priests in the following sense;
- Unlike other high priests before Him, Jesus had no sin, so He never needed to offer any sacrifices for His own sin, because He had none. But the high priests under the Old Covenant had to first offer sacrifices for their own individual sins, before offering animal sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people under the law. (Heb 5:1-3; 1 Pet 2:22; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 7:27).
- Jesus is the only one made a High Priest by an oath of the Father (Heb 7: 21, 28). By this oath, the father confirmed His High Priesthood. Other high priests were never confirmed by an oath. (Heb 6:16, 17).
- Other high priests were subject to death. Their priesthood ended when they died. Theirs was a temporary priesthood. They couldn't last for long. On the other hand, Jesus is never subject to death. He conquered death by His resurrection. Jesus is alive forevermore, therefore His High Priesthood continues forever. (Heb 7: 8, 2-24)
- Jesus is the only High Priest at the right hand of the Father. (Heb 8:1). Never did any other high priest attain this accomplishment. This implies that today, Jesus is God's, right-hand man. We are secure in Him.
- Jesus became the only High Priest that offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sin(s) of humanity, once for all. (Heb 7:27; 10:10). The other high priests offered animal sacrifices which were never able to deal with the sin problem.
Paul tells us that every high priest was ordained of God to offer gifts and sacrifices (Hebrews 8:3) In Jesus' own case, He was both Priest, Gift, and Sacrifice.
Some of The Gifts and Sacrifice Jesus Offered
| Gifts Offered By Jesus | Sacrifice Offered By Jesus |
|---|---|
| Eternal Life = Salvation (Rom 6:23; Eph 2:5,8) | Jesus offered Himself as Sacrifice. No other sacrifice required forever. Jesus was the last sacrifice. |
| Righteousness (Rom 5:17) | |
| Sanctification (Heb 10:10) The list goes on... |
The table above shows a list of some of the gifts and the sacrifice that Jesus offered as high priest. There are many more gifts that Jesus offered to us as High Priest. But the sacrifice He offered was one sacrifice offered once for all time. The sacrifice of Jesus was more than enough to solve the sin problem and liberate humanity from bondage to Satan. God no longer requires anyone to offer any other sacrifice for sins committed. The reign of sin and Satan is over.
Jesus our High Priest was both Priest and Sacrifice.
- Jesus is the only High Priest that offered just one sacrifice for sins forever. (Heb 9:26, 28)
Christ's sacrifice as High Priest made possible our redemption, and spiritual service. What actually does it mean to say that Jesus Christ is our High Priest? It simply means that He is our REPRESENTATIVE in the courts of heaven. A high priest is one who speaks on behalf of his people and stands with them on spiritual matters in accordance with their spiritual rights, inheritance, and privileges.
The Bible tells us that we are priests unto our Father God (1 Pet 2:5,9; Rev 1:6; 5:10). And the scriptures clarify that among priests, there must of necessity be a High Priest (The Head Priest). The New Creation is a family of priests with Jesus as High Priest.
The apostle Paul says to us that Jesus is the High Priest of our Profession (Heb 3:1). This means that Jesus is everly present in heaven to make good our confession, and to stand by us forever, no matter our shortcomings. He never turns His back on us.
The Bible tells us that we are priests unto our Father God (1 Pet 2:5,9; Rev 1:6; 5:10). And the scriptures clarify that among priests, there must of necessity be a High Priest (The Head Priest). The New Creation is a family of priests with Jesus as High Priest.
The apostle Paul says to us that Jesus is the High Priest of our Profession (Heb 3:1). This means that Jesus is everly present in heaven to make good our confession, and to stand by us forever, no matter our shortcomings. He never turns His back on us.
What Makes Jesus Qualified to Be
High Priest?
Jesus qualifies to be our High Priest because as the Bible reveals, He meets all the characteristics which a High Priest should possess, with all the divine requirements, and even more!
The Scriptures reveal that anyone whom God chose as High Priest had to meet the following characteristics, (See Heb 5: 1-6).
- The person had to be taken from among men (Heb 5:1). This implies that the person must be a real flesh and blood person.
- He must be identified with his people in every way (Heb 5:2b). This includes the fact that the individual must identify with the infirmities of the people to whom He is High Priest. He must understand their frailties.
- The ability to have compassion on the people, because he is like them (Heb 5: 2a).
- He should be able to offer sacrifices to God for the sins of his people (Heb 5:3).
- Finally, the person must have been chosen by God to be High Priest (Heb 5: 4).
Jesus met all of these requirements in the sense that;
- He was a man and was taken from among men (John 1:14; Phil 2:7)
- He was identified with mankind in every way. He understands our frailties (Heb 2:14).
- He was compassionate (Heb 4:15).
- Jesus offered Himself once for all, as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, Past, Present, and future. Jesus' sacrifice was the final sacrifice. No other sacrifice is required (Heb 7: 27; 9:14).
- Jesus was called of God a High Priest after the order of Melchisedek (Heb 5:10).
- He was made a High Priest forever, after the order of Melchisedek (Heb 6:20). The Father conferred on Him the title and office of High Priest, with an oath.
When Was Jesus Conferred With the
Title of High Priest
Title of High Priest
The conferment took place in heaven. It happened at the very moment the Church came into existence. The Church was born in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came upon one hundred and twenty people (men and women), and recreated them and filled them (Acts 2:1-4). These one hundred and twenty people became the first set of the New Covenant Priesthood. You will agree with me that for there to be a High Priest, there must be a body-of-priests of which the High Priest is to be the head. Jesus couldn't have been a High Priest without having a body-of-priests to preside over. The title of High Priest could not have been conferred on Him when there was yet no body-of-priests for Him to preside over. Jesus is not High Priest of the Old Covenant. So he was never High Priest of the Levitical or Aarons priesthood. Rather, He is the High Priest of the New Covenant Priesthood. He is the High Priest of the Church (His Body). Jesus needed to have a body-of-priests in order for Him to be the Head Priest. Without a body-of-priests, the title and office of High Priest would be meaningless. It was at the moment this New Covenant body of priests (the Church) commenced that the High Priest office was conferred on Jesus.
Our High Priest and Temptation
The Bible declares that Jesus, who was JEHOVAH of the Old Testament became a man (Philippians 2: 5-11; Heb 2:14-17).
Jesus became very man to the point of being tempted as every other man (Heb 2: 16-18; 4:15). Since Jesus could be tempted like us when He walked here on earth, that suggests that it would have been possible for Him to sin, had He wanted to, because as Man, He had free will. The possibility was there, otherwise, the temptations He endured would have been just mere formalities, and the statement, "He was in all points tempted like as we are," (Heb 4:15), would have been the greatest scam of all time. If it wasn't possible for Him to sin, then the temptations he endured would not be valid temptations. This is because, if the temptations were to be valid temptations then the person being tempted must have the possibility of being able to choose whether or not to sin or giving in to the temptations, otherwise the whole thing would be a charade. How could scripture have said He was tempted in all points like us when it knows the person being tempted was incapable of sinning. Jesus was capable of sinning just like the first Adam in the garden of Eden. Like every other real person, Jesus had the free will (the freedom) to choose to go against the Father's will and sin. But he chose the alternative. He chose not to give in or yield to temptation (Heb 4:15c).
About Him the Bible had this to say, "He committed no sin, nor ever deceived anyone." (1 Peter 2:22).
All of these show us how far Jesus went in order for Him to be able to become our High Priest. He endured the same environment of temptations in which we live. As a matter of truth, Jesus was tempted more than any man that has ever walked upon the face of the earth, and any man there would ever be. But he conquered all temptations that men ever encountered, or would ever encounter. And not only that, He conquered even the tempter himself. Therefore, He understands whatever it is that we are passing through, and He is our way of escape.
Tying it All Up Together
If you are born again then you are a priest in the ministry of Christ, our great High Priest. Understand this, the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus was performed on your behalf and has been credited to your account forever. This implies that you have been perfectly redeemed. You have complete forgiveness, and your sin debts, past, present, and future have all been wiped-away forever. (Col 2:13,14)
All of your sins past, present, and future have been wiped away. There are no more records for your sins. You already have forgiveness even without asking. As a matter of truth, there is nothing else left for God to forgive. God Has played His part. It's up to men now to emulate God and forgive one another, even as the Father for Christ's sake Has forgiven us already (Eph 4:32).
You see, we are no longer to be sin-conscious, rather we are to be righteousness conscious. The Father will no more charge you for your sin debts. Satan can never condemn you anymore. People may condemn you, and even Jail you for your wrongs, but your heavenly Father will never do so. Does this mean you can live anyhow you want to live? Of course not. This is because anyone who has Christ always loves and desires to live as Christ lived. It's an inborn desire of the righteous. The power of temptation may sway you at times, but that inborn desire of Christ in you will always be there to break away from everything that is ungodly.
Understand that the salvation that has been granted you is perfect. Why would you think for a second that you can lose your salvation? Even you can't ruin your salvation. If you can ruin your salvation, then it means that this salvation is not strong enough, if it can be ruined, and this implies that whatever helps you to ruin your salvation is stronger than your salvation. Because the stronger destroys the weaker. But we know that nothing in the whole of the universe is stronger than the salvation we have in Christ. The scriptures declare that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Rom 8: 31-39).
When God saves a person, He does so through the perfect work and sacrifice of Jesus. God does not un-save people. If He made you a saint (Rom 1:7), He will keep you a saint. 1 Pet 1:5
All of your sins past, present, and future have been wiped away. There are no more records for your sins. You already have forgiveness even without asking. As a matter of truth, there is nothing else left for God to forgive. God Has played His part. It's up to men now to emulate God and forgive one another, even as the Father for Christ's sake Has forgiven us already (Eph 4:32).
You see, we are no longer to be sin-conscious, rather we are to be righteousness conscious. The Father will no more charge you for your sin debts. Satan can never condemn you anymore. People may condemn you, and even Jail you for your wrongs, but your heavenly Father will never do so. Does this mean you can live anyhow you want to live? Of course not. This is because anyone who has Christ always loves and desires to live as Christ lived. It's an inborn desire of the righteous. The power of temptation may sway you at times, but that inborn desire of Christ in you will always be there to break away from everything that is ungodly.
Understand that the salvation that has been granted you is perfect. Why would you think for a second that you can lose your salvation? Even you can't ruin your salvation. If you can ruin your salvation, then it means that this salvation is not strong enough, if it can be ruined, and this implies that whatever helps you to ruin your salvation is stronger than your salvation. Because the stronger destroys the weaker. But we know that nothing in the whole of the universe is stronger than the salvation we have in Christ. The scriptures declare that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Rom 8: 31-39).
When God saves a person, He does so through the perfect work and sacrifice of Jesus. God does not un-save people. If He made you a saint (Rom 1:7), He will keep you a saint. 1 Pet 1:5
Prize Chukwuka
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