In "Christ’s Priesthood Typified," Don Fortner explores the necessity of Christ's incarnation for His role as the High Priest. He argues that while Christ could hold the offices of Prophet and King without becoming human, His priesthood requires Him to share in human nature to atone for sin, referencing Hebrews 2:17. Fortner underscores that without a sacrificial body, Christ's priestly role would lack significance, akin to vain pagan priests. He emphasizes the depth of Christ’s experiential knowledge of human suffering, affirming that His merciful and faithful character stems from His solidarity with humanity, as seen in Hebrews 4:15 and 5:7-9. The article highlights the doctrinal significance of understanding Christ’s dual nature as both divine and human, which assures believers of His compassion and fidelity in their spiritual needs.
Key Quotes
“A priest without a sacrifice is like a king without a subject.”
“He was made a man that he might be our High Priest.”
“Christ is moved to compassion and pity by the things that we suffer being touched with the feeling of our infirmities.”
“Such is the unspeakable love of Christ for us that he willingly endured all that was necessary for him to be our merciful and faithful High Priest.”
What does the Bible say about Christ as our High Priest?
The Bible teaches that Christ became a merciful and faithful High Priest by being made like us in all things, which allows Him to make reconciliation for our sins (Hebrews 2:17).
Hebrews 2:17, Hebrews 8:3, 1 Timothy 2:5
How do we know that Christ's priesthood was necessary?
Christ's priesthood was necessary because only by becoming man could He offer a valid sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 8:3).
Hebrews 8:3
Why is Christ's suffering important for His role as High Priest?
Christ's suffering is important for His role as High Priest because it enables Him to empathize with our weaknesses and intercede for us (Hebrews 4:15).
Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 5:7-9, 1 Peter 3:18
Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. - Hebrews 2:17Christ’s Priesthood Typified
In order to be our great High Priest, the Son of God had to be made like unto his brethren. That is the meaning of these words: “In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God.”
The Necessity
Christ could be our Prophet without becoming a man; and he could be our King without becoming a man; but in order to be our Priest, in order to be a merciful and faithful High Priest, in order to make reconciliation for the sins of his people, the Son of God had to become one of us. Had he not become one of us, he would have had nothing to offer God by which to make atonement for our sins (Heb. 8:3).
A priest without a sacrifice is like a king without a subject. Had God not prepared his Son a body, he would have had no sacrifice for sin. He must have a body to sacrifice, or his priesthood would be as vain, empty, and meaningless, as the priests of Baal, of Buddha, or of Rome. Being called a priest would be a mockery of him, not a work honoring to him, if he had no sacrifice to offer upon God’s altar. Christ our God became a man so that he might be sacrificed to purge our sins.
The Son of God did not have to be our Priest; but if he would be our priest, he had to become a man. The Lord of glory was “made like unto his brethren.” Those words describe our Savior’s humiliation on our behalf. They speak not only of his incarnation, but of his life of humiliation, suffering, pain, and sorrow on our behalf. Not only did the Son of God become one of us, he became one with us. We are Christ’s brethren by Divine adoption; and everything the Son of God does, he does for the glory of his Father and the good of his brethren.
Made Like Us
Christ was made like unto his brethren in the essence of our human nature by his incarnation (1 Tim. 2:5). Our Lord had a real human body, a real human soul, a real human heart, with real human feelings, emotions, and needs. The only difference between Christ and his people is that he had no sin. His body was not bigger, stronger, or more impressive than any other man’s. The experiences of life touched him and moved him, just as they do us. He was and is a real man.
Our Savior was made like unto us in the temptations he endured as a man (Heb. 4:15). He was tempted in all points like as we are, only with this one glorious exception, he had no sin. By-in-large, our temptations arise from within, from our inward unbelief and lusts. Even those temptations which arise from without find a ready and willing companion within. Our Savior’s temptations were like Adam’s temptation in the Garden. He had no inward inclination to do evil. Yet, his temptations were real.
Our Lord was made like unto us in the things which he suffered, too (Heb. 5:7-9). What do you suffer? Christ has suffered that. He knows what it is to be hungry, thirsty, tormented with pain, slandered by his enemies, misunderstood by his family, despised by his kin, deserted by his companions, betrayed by his friend, denied by his disciple, put to public shame, scandalized and reproached, and forsaken by his Father.
The Lord of Glory was also made like unto us in the death that he died (1 Pet. 3:18). The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, died the death that we should have died, deserved to die and must have died, had he not died in our place, the Just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
“A Merciful and Faithful High Priest”
It is this conformity to us that qualifies our Lord to be the kind of Priest we need. He was made a man that he might be our High Priest. And he suffered, being tempted as a man, that he might be “a merciful and faithful High Priest.”
Christ is moved to compassion and pity by the things that we suffer, being touched with the feeling of our infirmities, because he has also suffered those very things. He is merciful, not only because it is his will as God to be merciful, but also because he has a fellow feeling with those who need mercy.
Our Savior faithfully shows mercy to us, because the things he suffered, he suffered specifically and distinctly for us. He exercises constant care for all the concerns of his brethren. He lovingly condescends to the wants and sorrows of his suffering, tempted brethren (Isa. 40:11). Because his compassion does not fail, his faithfulness is great.
Such is the unspeakable love of Christ for us that he willingly endured all that was necessary for him to be our merciful and faithful High Priest. Like Jacob because of his love to Rachel, our Lord was content to submit to any terms, to undergo any sorrow, to meet any conditions, that he might save and enjoy his beloved bride (Eph. 5:25-26).
The Lord Jesus Christ is our great High Priest, a Priest ordained, appointed, and anointed of God the Father, a Priest worthy of Divine acceptance because he is himself God, and a Priest made like unto his brethren, a Priest who is one of f us, God in our flesh!
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