Jesus, as our Passover Lamb, was sacrificed on the cross to bring the possibility of salvation to all mankind.  The Hebrews writer said that He “…by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2;9).  We thank God for the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf; however, if our salvation was to be maintained, we would need more—we would need a high priest.

The High Priest of old was the chief authority in religious matters.  He had many responsibilities as he oversaw the work of the other priests (2 Chronicles 19:11).  His most important work, however, was done on the Day of Atonement when he entered the Most Holy Place to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat and make atonement for himself and the people (Leviticus 16:14-16).  This work of the high priest foreshadowed the work Christ does for us today (Hebrews 9:11-28).

The high priesthood of Christ is far superior to that of the Levitical priesthood, in large, because He is so superior to the priests of that dispensation.  While the high priests of old were sinners, Jesus is sinless; thus, unlike the previous priests, He does not have to make atonement for His own sins, but only for the sins of the people (Hebrews 7:27-28).  We can take comfort in the fact that our High Priest is perfect, completely free from all faults and flaws. We should also take solace in the fact that our High Priest sympathizes with us.

Hebrews 4:15 (ESV)
¹⁵  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

The participle translated “has been tempted” is in the passive voice, telling us that the action of tempting was taken against Jesus, but not necessarily something He felt.  In other words, there is no indication that Jesus craved the things with which the devil tempted Him.  It does tell us, however, that Jesus knows what it is like to be assaulted by Satan; thus, He knows exactly what we are up against, and He sympathizes with us.

The most important part of our Lord’s work for us is as our mediator.  While our goal should be to never sin, we all do it from time to time.  Thankfully, we have the greatest of all mediators to help us.

1 John 2:1 (ESV)
¹  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

This is what Jesus does for us as our High Priest.  When we sin, He goes with us when we approach God’s throne to ask forgiveness and advocates for us.

Hebrews 7:25 (ESV)
²⁵  Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

What a blessing it is to have an advocate like Jesus—one who is morally perfect and sympathetic toward us when we fall short.  The result of His work as our High Priest is that we are saved to the uttermost.  Thank God for Jesus!

As you wind down for the night, think about these things