Our Great High Priest
Hebrews 8:1–6
We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 8:1

Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament priestly function in two ways, by offering himself up as a sacrifice for sin (which the Old Testament priests could not do) and by interceding for his people in heaven.

That Jesus is himself the sacrifice for sins makes clear that his priesthood is different from and superior to the Old Testament priesthoods. There are other differences too. To begin with, the Old Testament priests were sinful and were required to offer a sacrifice for themselves as well as for those they represented. Furthermore, the sacrifices the priests of Israel offered were inadequate. They taught the way of salvation through the death of an innocent victim. But the blood of sheep and goats could not take away sins (Amos 5:22; Micah 6:6–7; Heb. 10:4–7). Finally, the sacrifices of the earthly priests were also incomplete. They had to be offered again and again.

In contrast to this earthly priesthood, the sacrifice of Jesus is by one who is himself perfect and who therefore has no need that atonement be made for him. Second, being himself perfect and at the same time the sacrifice, it follows that the sacrifice made by Jesus was itself perfect. Hence, it could actually pay the price for sin and remove it, as the sacrifices in Israel could not. They were a shadow of things to come but they were not the reality. Jesus’s death was the actual atonement on the basis of which God declares the sinner righteous. Finally, unlike the sacrifices of the Old Testament priests that had to be repeated daily, the sacrifice of Jesus was complete and eternal. This is confirmed by the fact that he is now seated at the right hand of God. In the Jewish temple there were no chairs. This signified that the work of the priests was never done.

Teaching about priests and sacrifices is hard for most people today to understand. But it was not that easy to understand in antiquity either. That is why God gave elaborate instructions for the performances of sacrifices—to teach both the serious nature of sin and his provision for forgiveness. The sacrifices taught two great lessons. First, sin means death. It is a lesson concerning God’s judgment. It means that sin is serious. Second, there is grace. The significance of the sacrifice is that by the grace of God an innocent substitute can be offered in the sinner’s place. The goat or lamb was not that substitute. It could only point forward to it. But Jesus was and is, for all who will have him as Savior. He is the only, perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for sin on the basis of which God counts the sinner justified.

Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865

Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.