Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Hebrews 4:14
Like presidents and popes, the position of high priest was the highest station anyone could attain. Yet not everyone even had a chance at the office. They had to be a descendant of Israel, a member of the tribe of Levi and a direct descendant of Aaron. Still, out of the very few that qualified, only one was anointed high priest.
Although the position was singular, scores of individuals have entered this confraternity of supreme Jewish clerics over the centuries. Even so, all of them together are nothing more than a copy and shadow of Him who was to come: The Great High Priest.
There were no chairs in the temple or tabernacle for the high priest to sit down. His was the duty of serving and not the privilege of fellowship. Once a year without fail, the high priest needed to make atonement for God’s people. He would go into the Holy of Holies, sprinkle the blood, and get out. What seemed to them an end in itself was only a harbinger of better things to come.
When Christ offered His own blood to atone for the sins of the world, He did it once and for all and then, sat down on the throne on high. There would never be a successor. He is the Great High Priest.
O God, we come with singing,
Because the great High Priest
Our names to Thee is bringing,
Nor e’re forgets the least:
For us He wears the mitre,
Where holiness shines bright,
For us His robes are whiter
Than heav’ns unsullied light
Mary Bowley Peters (1813-1856)
April 5
