In our continued walk through the book of Hebrews we come to chapter 5.  Jesus is our great high priest and the author compares Him to other priests who offer sacrifices and prayers for their sins and then for ours.  Jesus did not need to do that because He was without sin.  He took our sins upon Himself to conquer sin once for all time.  Let’s look at the passage together today.

Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”6 And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

The beauty of Jesus as our great high priest is that He essentially made that role no longer necessary.  Before Jesus the job of the Priest was to be an intermediary between humans and God.  When Jesus conquered sin with His death on the cross the veil tore between God and man.  We now can, by the blood of Jesus, go directly to God 24/7/365. Jesus made it possible for everyone to have a connection to God directly.  He ended the need for sacrifices because He became our sacrifice once for all time.  He took our sin upon Himself and paid the penalty that we deserved to pay.  Thank Him today for that incredible gift!

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave