#DailyDevotion Why Jesus Is Still A Better High Priest Than The Levitical One
Hebrews 7:26-28 26 Here is the High Priest we needed – holy, innocent, spotless, separated from sinners, and risen higher than the heavens, 27Who doesn’t need to bring sacrifices every day like those high priests, first for His own sins, then for the sins of the people. He did this only once when He sacrificed Himself. 28The Law appointed weak men to be high priests, but when God speaks with an oath later than the Law, He appoints the Son, Who was made perfect forever.
But wait, there’s more! Jesus is better than the Levitical priesthood because he never dies as we read before. But he is still better than them for a hosts of other reasons. They were a shadow of what was to come. Jesus is the fulfillment of their priesthood.
Jesus is the High Priest we needed. Unlike the other priest, Jesus is holy, innocent, spotless, separated from sinner, and risen higher than they heavens. He is all these things in himself, not just declared so through the rituals the LORD provided through the Law. He is God of God, Light of Light, Life of Life, begotten not made being of one substance with the Father.
The other priest had to bring sacrifices for their sins first and then those for the sins of the people. They had to be ritually cleansed by water and blood. Jesus on the cross poured forth water and blood from his side at his death which cleanses us from all our sins. Jesus offered up one holy, pure sacrifice once for all, himself on the cross. There on the cross Jesus fulfilled all the sacrifices prescribed by the Law of Moses. He is our Passover lamb whose blood is placed on the doors of our lips in the Lord’s Supper and whose body is eaten there also so death would passover us. He is the atoning sacrifice who blood is sprinkled on us in baptism that we may have our sins forgiven, being atoned for by his blood being poured out upon the mercy seat of God’s throne in the heaven of heavens. He is both the scapegoat the goat offered for sins as the high priest that year put the sins of the people upon him and as he is lead out of the city by the priest as an offering to Azazel. He does this not just for the sins of Israel but for the sin of the world.
The high priest were weak men appointed by the Law. But God spoke by the prophet David in Psalm 110, “4The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You are a Priest forever like Melchizedek.’” Now we will pick up on this more later in the book of Hebrews. But for now we will just note that God, the LORD had as his intention to replace, to supersede, the Levitical priesthood with his Son, who is made perfect forever. He is made perfect forever as earlier noted in the book by his suffering, death and resurrection as he completes that for which he was conceived by the woman’s seed through the Holy Spirit. Through the flesh of a man peace is made between God and man, between God and you. Now as our perfect High Priest, what is spoken in the same Psalm has come to pass at his ascension, The LORD says to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right until I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” There at the right hand of Majesty, he presents his blood for the atonement of all your trespasses and sins and makes intercession for you to the Father.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending your Son Jesus to be our great High Priest who offered himself for all our sins, trespasses, iniquities, guilt and shame. Grant us faith to believe in him and look to him alone as our redemption, ransom, atonement, righteousness, and holiness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.