Passages: Psalm 110:1, 4; ; Hebrews 2:14-15, 17-18; 4:15; 7:23-25; 9:11-14; 10:12-14, 20-21; 1 Peter 2:5-6
Sin has stained everything, and its cost is life itself. It is a price we cannot pay and remain alive. Even more, it is an eternal price that we cannot pay no matter how much we give. The blood of another must be shed on our behalf.
The cost of sin. In the garden, God covered Adam and Eve with the skins of an animal. In Exodus, God passed over the homes of those with the blood of a lamb painted on the lintel and doorposts. In the Law, God gives his people Israel the sacrificial system to make atonement. These are a shadow of what was to come.
The priesthood of Aaron. Aaron the brother of Moses was the first high priest of the Old Testament sacrificial system, but Aaron died and needed to be replaced. Then his replacement died, and the cycle continued over centuries. Not only was the priesthood of Aaron bound by time, but the blood of bulls and goats offered in this sacrificial system could not pay the price for human sin, but only reminded the people of the bearable cost of that sin.
All of this is a shadow of the one who would come as the Great High Priest, paying the full price for human sin by carrying his own blood into the Holy of Holies in heaven (Hebrews 9:11-14). This One has come, and his name is Jesus. The shadow is complete, and that which is better has begun.
The priesthood of Jesus. Unlike the priesthood of Aaron, in which the high priest dies and is replaced over and over again, offering sacrifices that could never remove sin's stain, Jesus’ priesthood continues for eternity and offers a once for all sacrifice that pays the debt of sin, removes its stain forever, and brings restored life in God.
The death of Jesus is the final, eternal sacrifice for sin. He brought his own blood into the eternal holy of holies, offering one eternally sufficient sacrifice and making all who trust him holy forever. He himself is the way into the holy of holies in heaven for all who trust him (Hebrews 10:19-21). He destroyed death by his own death and set free forever all who trust him by his resurrection and glorification. His blood removes the debt of sin, cleanses our consciences, and renews us to an eternal life of loving service to God.
He experienced temptation to its end without sin. He understands our weaknesses from the inside and serves as our sympathetic, eternal mediator. He is our merciful and faithful High Priest, who suffered so all who trust him might live and bring God glory.
Jesus gave himself on our behalf. He paid our eternal debt so we might have eternal life. Thankful worship is our logical response, and this worship must go well beyond the musical worship of Sunday mornings. We worship by striving to understand like Jesus, seeing the broken through the eyes of redemption and hearing both words and meaning in the words of others. We worship by striving to value like Jesus, seeing both of the needs and the worth of persons as we carry them to his throne in prayer. We worship by striving to behave like Jesus, giving ourselves for others, coming to know them, and interceding for them in prayer. By doing this we serve as priests under the one Great High Priest.
