Jesus is our high priest according to God’s promise and by fulfilling all the requirements for an eternal priesthood.
What are the requirements Jesus had to fulfill?
Read the below article to find out.
Hebrews 5:9-10
Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author of eternal salvation, named by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:20
where as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:21-22
(for they indeed have been made priests without an oath), but he with an oath by him that says of him,
“The Lord swore and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.’”By so much, Jesus has become the collateral of a better covenant.
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What is the high priest in the Bible?
According to the Law of Moses, the high priest was the highest religious leader of the Israelites. The position was inherited, and Moses’ brother, Aaron, was the first high priest in the Levitical priesthood.
A key role of the high priest was to mediate between God and the people of Israel. This was done mainly through sacrifices but also by judging and instructing Israelites. Once a year, on the Day of the Atonement, the high priest made a sacrifice for himself and the whole congregation of Israel. He took the blood of the sacrifice, entered the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and later in the temple, and sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.
The Holy of Holies was the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, whose entrance was covered by a thick veil. It was a place where God would appear, and because of this, it needed to be separated by a veil. Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies.
Jesus now functions as our high priest and has assumed the high priest’s duties under The New Covenant. The Old Covenant has been removed, the veil to the holiest of holy is torn, and we can draw near to God through Christ.
Hebrews 9:15-16
For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him who made it.
Hebrews 7:27–28
who doesn’t need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For he did this once for all, when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men as high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath which came after the law appoints a Son forever who has been perfected.
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
Matthew 26:28
for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins.
Hebrews 8:13
In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.
Hebrews 7:11-12
Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people have received the law), what further need was there for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is of necessity a change made also in the law.
Hebrews 7:18-19
For there is an annulling of a foregoing commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect), and a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
When did Jesus become our high priest?
The precise moment when Jesus became the High Priest of Christians may not be explicitly stated in the New Testament. Through His incarnation, sacrificial death, and resurrection, Jesus fulfills the priesthood requirements and provides redemption and reconciliation for all who believe in Him.
Let’s establish the timeline and requirements for Jesus to become our high priest.
God promises an eternal high priest
In Psalm 110, God promises to establish Jesus as an eternal high priest. The high priest’s office in the promise has to be eternal because Yahweh gives a promise to David’s (who is the author of the Psalm) “Lord. ” In other words, Psalm 110:1 says: “God says to my God. ”
Pslam 110:1-4
Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion.
Rule among your enemies.
Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array.
Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth.
Yahweh has sworn, and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
Jesus had to incarnate to become our high priest
Hebrews 2 tells us that Jesus had to incarnate in order to offer a true sacrifice for all humans.
Hebrews 2:17
Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
Jesus can not become our high priest while on earth
Jesus can not become an eternal high priest while still on earth. The Old Covenant had its own priests and high priests, and the New Covenant had to do away the Old Covenant first.
Hebrews 8:1-4
Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this. We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a servant of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law,
Old Covenant ends
The moment when the veil in the Temple was torn apart at the time of Jesus’ death would suggest that the Old Covenant priesthood is obsolete from then on.
Mark 15:37-38
Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit. The veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom.
Jesus has to ascend to heaven
After that, Jesus must appear in the presence of the Father to perform the high priestly duties, which He can do after His ascension.
Hebrews 9:24
For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
Why is Jesus considered the High Priest?
Jesus accomplished the will of God the Father perfectly during His life. He is holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
By dying on the cross, Jesus can enter the holiest of holy (the presence of God in heaven) for the believers and purify with His blood all of those that are in Him. And because Jesus resurrected and lives forever, He is a high priest forever and the source of eternal salvation.
Hebrews 5:8-9
though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered. Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author of eternal salvation,
Hebrews 7:26
For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Hebrews 9:15-16
For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him who made it.
Hebrews 9:12-14
nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:24-26
For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place year by year with blood not his own, or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Hebrews 13:20
Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,
Hebrews 7:23-25
Many, indeed, have been made priests, because they are hindered from continuing by death. But he, because he lives forever, has his priesthood unchangeable. Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.
Our High Priest intercedes for us
Hebrews 7:25
Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.
To conclude
Hebrews 10:19-22
Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, and having a great priest over God’s house, let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water,