Jesus as Priest
Today I want to centre our thoughts on the concept of “Jesus as priest.” The most extensive use of this idea is made by the writer to the Hebrews. Entire chapters are dedicated to the priestly role of the Lord Jesus Christ. We won’t read too much, just enough to give the clear sense that Jesus is our priest - specifically the Great High Priest. Listen to these words from the beginning of Chapter Five:
"Every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’ As He also says in another place: ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.’”
Jesus, as our High Priest, is concerned with Righteousness. In every religious system with which I am even remotely acquainted, the priestly role is one of mediator. The priest represents God to the people and represents the people to God. That’s why we read in this passage that human priests had to have sacrifices offered for themselves before they could act on behalf of the people and we also see that no one can just decide to become a priest. Only God can call one to this role. Again, the passage makes it clear that God chose the Lord Jesus Christ for this position. It was not something that Jesus took on Himself.
As with all of these pictures, we’ll ask ourselves the question, “So what?” The Bible presents Jesus as our Priest. What difference does it make to me to know Him in that position? It actually has a significant impact on our daily lives because, humanly speaking, we don’t pay much attention to righteousness, but Jesus our High Priest puts great emphasis on righteousness.
Just as a human priest of Jesus' day offered an animal for the sin of the person who had fallen short in his or her attempt to live righteously, so Jesus as God’s High Priest offers a sacrifice for us, who have fallen short in our attempt to live righteously. (Assuming such an attempt has ever been made by us.) This is where the comparison breaks down on one hand and is expanded on the other. The Old Testament priest offered the sacrificial animal to God because a sin had already been committed, the person recognized it and wanted to make things right between him or herself and God.
We, on the other hand, look back and see that the Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for us even though we had not yet lived and committed any sin. As a priest, He had offered, not an animal to cover past sin, but Himself to remove all of our sin. When we get to know Jesus as our Priest, we see that in Him lies the key to our righteousness. We are painfully aware we have none of our own, but because of His priestly activity as mediator and intercessor, we can have a relationship with God through Him.
To know Jesus as Priest deeply enriches our appreciation of Him. It allows us to understand the prophetic name used by the prophet Jeremiah when he wrote about Jehovah Tsidkenu - the LORD our Righteousness. What a wonderful thing it is for Christians in our day, when we have slipped up and fallen short, to know that our Great High Priest has already sprinkled His own blood before the heavenly altar assuring forgiveness as soon as we recognize our sin and turn from it. No waiting, no human intermediary. Just a repentant sinner and Jesus, our priest.
Ron Hughes
© July 2006
