Jesus: Our Great High Priest - Protestant Caucus/Devotional

Gracetoyou.org ^ | 1993 | John McArthur, Grace Community Church

[metmom]

"The point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (Heb. 8:1).

Since Jesus serves as our High Priest, we have access to God.

Access to God was always a problem for the Jewish people. Exodus 33:20 declares that no man can see God and live. Once each year, on the great Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the Jewish high priest entered into the Holy of Holies, where God's presence dwelt in a unique sense, to approach God on behalf of the people.

God's covenant with Israel was the basis for their communion with Him. And the sacrificial system that accompanied the Old Covenant gave the people an outward act to represent their inner repentance. But their sacrifices were incessant because their sin was incessant. They needed a perfect priest and sacrifice to provide access to God permanently. That's exactly what Jesus was and did.

Hebrews 10 says that Jesus offered His body as a sacrifice for mankind's sins once for all, then sat down at the right hand of the Father (vv. 10, 12). That was a revolutionary concept to Jewish thinking. A priest on duty could never sit down because his work was never done. But Jesus introduced a new and wonderful element into the sacrificial system: one sacrifice, offered once, sufficient for all time. That was the basis of the New Covenant.

Our Lord's priesthood is permanent and perpetual: "Because He abides forever, [He] holds His priesthood permanently. Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:24-25). That's the central message of the book of Hebrews.

It wasn't easy for the Jewish people to accept the need for a new covenant. Most rejected Christ outright. Similarly, many people today reject His priesthood, supposing they can gain access to God on their own terms. But they're tragically mistaken. Jesus Himself said, "No one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6).

Suggestion for Prayer

Praise God for receiving you into His presence through His Son, Jesus Christ.

For Further Study

Read Hebrews 10:19-25, noting how God wants you to respond to Christ's priesthood.

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.

[metmom]

Studying God’s Word ping

[ealgeone]

+1

[blue-duncan]

Jesus lived, died, rose again, and is seated at the Father’s right hand. What a Savior!

[ViLaLuz]

This is a great reminder of the highest priesthood of Jesus. It’s something I don’t often think about but it’s Truth. Good stuff right there.

[Bob434]

Just read today on this subject? When we gE saved, we are “reconciled to God” meaning that we now stand unblemished before him through Christ.

We sometimes feel as though we need to “earn peace with God” by doing Good, or confessing during prayer (we should confess, but it doesn’t “make us closer” to God so,that he can then ctrl bless us or hear us “better”)

But the fantastic fsct is that we ARE at peace with God, not because of anything we do or did, but because of the fsct hat christ died to make it possible.

Going to God and “feeling like we aren’t good enough for him to hear us or bless us” is infact sin because we reduce our relationship with God to our works of merit. We must understand that we stand in God’s presence “at peace with God” —despite— out failures.

With his knowledge, we can more confidently go to God in prayer, knowing that he hears us, and ask him for themdeep,desire to obey him because we love him, and not because we want something from him or want to “be taken more seriosuly” or whatever.

Christ makes it all possible! We ARE at peace with God, even when we don’t feel like it! Let us learn to live that fact, and ask his help,in our struggle agaisnt sin for his honor and glory- and ask confidently knowing that he hears us- that is the key to faith- knowing that he hears us because we are at peace with him now through Christ.

[metmom]

AMEN!!!!

Very excellent observation.

[Bob434]

thanks, the study this morning opened my eyes some- and it went along with what you posted about our advocate in Christ-

[Bob434]

The claim that “We are at peace with God” just really struck me this am- I tend to ‘feel unworthy’, and i am, on my own, but through Christ- I’m not unworthy- I tend to feel as though i have to ‘earn answers to prayer’ and when they don’t get answered, I blame myself for ‘not being spiritual enough’ even though i know i can’t be through any effort of my own- I never really felt ‘worthy enough’ to be standing in His presence, blameless, asking what i will to be answered- I also didn’t realize what a sin it was to feel that way- I was gonna read through the commentary on the whoel chapter, but had to stop at v 2 because the concept of being blameless was overwhelming to me even though subconsciously i knew about it- i however still fell back into the law when praying- without realizing it-

It’s pretty awesome that we are reconciled to God and stand blameless through Jesus in his presence- I tended to beat myself up because I’m ‘not more sanctified’- and that affected my praying-

[metmom]

I’ve been there, too. Matter of fact, I think most of us have.

thanks again for your thoughts. Gives me a lot to think about and work on, too.