Christ, Our High Priest

Q: What does the Bible say about Jesus as our High Priest?

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest who intercedes for us before God. According to Hebrews 4:14-16, Jesus Christ is identified as our Great High Priest who has ascended into heaven. He is not just any high priest, but the Son of God who understands our struggles because He was tempted in every way, yet without sin. This unique role allows believers to approach God's throne of grace with confidence, knowing we can obtain mercy and find grace in times of need.

Q: How do we know that every believer is a priest?

Every believer is considered a priest because Scripture declares it, as seen in Revelation 1:5-6 and 1 Peter 2:9. The Bible clearly indicates that all believers are priests unto God. Revelation 1:5-6 states that Christ has made us kings and priests. Additionally, 1 Peter 2:9 describes believers as a royal priesthood, emphasizing that all who are in Christ are set apart to serve God. This priesthood means that each believer has access to God and is called to offer spiritual sacrifices, such as praise and prayer, to Him.

Q: Why is it important to understand Christ as our Great High Priest?

Understanding Christ as our Great High Priest is vital as it assures us of His intercession and access to God. Recognizing Jesus as our Great High Priest is crucial for several reasons. First, He fulfills the role of high priest in a way that is unique and complete, offering Himself as the final and perfect sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 9:11-12 teaches that He entered the true Holy of Holies in heaven, securing eternal redemption for believers. Additionally, understanding His priesthood reassures us that we can approach God with confidence. Because He understands our weaknesses and has provided a way for us to be reconciled to God, we are encouraged to come boldly to His throne of grace.

Q: What does it mean that Christ is a priest forever?

Christ being a priest forever signifies His everlasting role in mediating between God and humanity. The scripture teaches that Christ is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:17). This means that unlike the Levitical priests who served temporarily and died, Christ’s priesthood is eternal. His singular sacrifice on the cross was not repeated; instead, it is permanently effective for all who believe. This enduring priesthood assures us that Christ continues to intercede for us before God, guaranteeing that our salvation is secure for eternity.

Now, our subject today is Jesus
Christ, Our Great High Priest. Jesus Christ, Our Great High
Priest. And I'm reading from the book
of Hebrews, chapter 4, verses 14, 15, and 16. Now, I would
like very much if you have a Bible, if you'll open it to Hebrews
4, verse 14. I'm going to read from Hebrews
4 several other passages from the book of Hebrews. But listen
carefully now to this passage of Scripture, very, very carefully.
Hebrews 4, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14,
14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14 And Paul is saying here, if Paul
is the author of Hebrews, many believe that he is, Paul is saying
here that as believers, children of God, we have a high priest,
a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. Let us then hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but he was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore," now seeing
we have a great high priest, "'Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we," believers, children of God,
may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Now,
my friends, every true believer, every child of God is a priest. Did you know that? That's true.
Every believer is a priest unto God. I'm a priest. If you're
a believer, you're a priest. The least believer, the oldest
believer is a priest. That's what the Scripture says.
Revelation 1, 5 and 6, "...unto him that loved us, and washed
us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us those whom he
washed in his own blood, those whom he loved, he hath made us
kings and priests." We're kings and priests unto God, His Father. And then in I Peter 2, 5, listen
to this, You also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual
house, a holy priesthood. Those who are the spiritual temple
or house of God are a holy priesthood to offer up sacrifices, spiritual
sacrifices. We have sacrifices to offer also. We are a royal priesthood. to
offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ,
by Jesus Christ. Now, in 1 Peter 2, 9, listen
to this. But you are a chosen generation,
a kingly royal priesthood. He hath made us kings and priests
unto our God. So we're a royal priesthood. And these, I could read many
other scriptures, but these and other scriptures teach that every
believer knows God. Every believer, a child of God,
knows God and is welcomed into the very presence, the holy presence
of God, and daily comes into the presence of God as a priest
of God to offer unto God spiritual sacrifices. And you may say,
What are some of these spiritual sacrifices? Well, praise, the
sacrifice of praise, prayer, thanksgiving. These are all spiritual
sacrifices. Intercession, praying for one
another, worship, reverence. These are spiritual sacrifices.
And as priest of God, we bring them, and they're acceptable,
well-pleasing to God through Christ Jesus. But, now listen
to me carefully. Do you understand what I'm saying?
Every believer is a priest. Every believer is a saint. Now
somehow these terms have fallen into bad company, and they talk
about a man being made a saint after he's dead if some miracle
is done in his name or in his memory and canonized by the church
and then later he becomes a saint. Not so. Every believer is a saint. We're sanctified in Christ Jesus. And every believer is a priest.
And today in many circles they have special priesthood. and
special men who are ordained of the church to be priests.
Not so. Not according to the Word of God. Every believer is
a priest. That's what the Scripture teaches.
Every believer is a priest. But, like Israel of old, we still,
every believer still has a great high priest. While every believer
is a priest, there is, according to the Word of God, before God,
a high priest. before God the Father, a high
priest. Seeing, therefore, we have a
great high priest before the Father who is," and He tells
us, the Word tells us who He is. It's Jesus Christ, the Son
of God. We're all priests, but there's
only one great high priest, and we have a high priest. Let me
show you that now from the Scripture. You have your Bible. If you don't,
write these scriptures down. Hebrews 2.17, listen to this.
Hebrews 2.17, Wherefore, in all things, it behooved him, Jesus
Christ, to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be
a merciful, faithful high priest in things pertaining to God,
to make reconciliation for the sins of his people." What am
I saying? I'm saying that every believer's
a priest. That's what God says. Kings and
priests, a royal priesthood. But we have one great high priest,
and that's Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And I'm showing you
from the Scriptures that we have that great high priest. And it
behooved him to come to this earth, be made in the likeness
of flesh, to take upon himself the form of a servant, bone of
our bone, flesh of our flesh, to be tempted in all points as
we are, that he might be unto us, a faithful and merciful high
priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
because he was tested, tempted, tried in all points as we are,
yet without sin. Hebrews 3-1, listen, wherefore
holy brethren, talking to believers, not holy because they don't have
any sin, they're holy in Christ, they're holy brethren, partakers
of the holy calling. They've been called of God. Consider
the apostle and high priest of our profession, Jesus Christ.
He's the apostle of our profession and he's the high priest, the
high priest, not a high priest, the high priest. And then Hebrews
4, 14, seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed
into the heavens, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, let us therefore
come boldly unto the throne of grace that we might find mercy
and grace to help us in time of need." Do you understand what
the Scripture is teaching here? Every believer, every child of
God knows God can come into the holy presence of God, can confess
his own sins and seek mercy and forgiveness and grace from God,
offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ, because every believer is a priest. But we have, and
must have, and do have, it hasn't changed from the beginning, a
great high priest, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. A friend
of mine some time ago died in one of the local hospitals in
this area. And the family was in the waiting
room and the nurse came in. And the nurse said to the family,
the family was greatly grieved and broken hearted, and the nurse
said to the family, she said, would you like to see a priest?
And one member of the family, a son, looked at the nurse and
he replied, no ma'am, no we wouldn't. We have a high priest. We have
a high priest. We have a great high priest,
Jesus Christ. That's what the author is saying
here, the Son of God who has passed into the heavens. And
having that high priest, having that high priest over the house
of God, let us draw near unto God before the throne of grace
in full assurance of faith. We have a high priest. If you'll
take the book of Hebrews and the Old Testament scriptures,
and if you'll study the high priest, that's plural, there
were lots of them in the Old Testament. If you'll study the
high priest of Israel in the Old Testament, you'll understand
more of the person and work of our great high priest. They were
types of Christ. They were pictures of Christ
Jesus. and you'll understand more of the blessings that we
have in Him. So, who was the high priest? What was the high priest? What
were the duties of the high priest in the Old Testament? Where'd
he come from? Who appointed him? What did he do? Well, first of
all, the high priest in the Old Testament was a man. He was a
man. That's right, Hebrews 5-1. Now
listen, for every high priest, every high priest, without exception,
is taken from among men who can have compassion on the ignorant
because he also is compassed with infirmity. He also is a
man. So every high priest throughout
the Old Testament was a man taken from among men. And Jesus Christ,
our great high priest, became a man, bone of our bone, flesh
of our flesh, made like his brethren. The Scripture says, "...a man
of sorrows, acquainted with grief, tempted in all points like as
we are, made in the likeness of sinful flesh, he became a
man." So in that sense, the Old Testament high priest typified
Jesus Christ, our great high priest. They were men. He's a
man. Now go ahead. And then secondly,
Hebrews 5, where I'm reading, Secondly, the high priest, the
high priest, one at a time. A man was high priest and he
died. Someone else took his place. But the high priest was selected
and ordained of God. Hebrews 5, 4, No man takes this
honor unto himself, but he that's called of God. The high priest
was anointed, appointed, selected, ordained, called of God to be
the high priest. Jesus Christ, even yea, the Son
of God, listen, glorified not himself to be made the high priest,
but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, he made him our great
high priest. Thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. These fellows were pictures of
Christ, but not perfect pictures by any means. They were They
fell short in many areas. God made Jesus Christ our high
priest. You say, preacher, you say that
everybody's a priest. Where do you get that? God said
so. And that Jesus Christ is the great high priest of every
believer. God said so. God made Him the high priest.
He who said unto Him, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten
Thee. Sit on my right hand till I make
Your enemies Your footstool. He made Him. God ordained him
to be the high priest. Then thirdly, the high priest
of Old Testament days was ordained of God. Now listen to this. This
is so important. He was ordained of God for men
in things pertaining to God. In other words, nobody came into
the Holy of Holies but the high priest. No one offered the atoning
sacrifice but the high priest. Men came to God. The high priest
represented God to men and men to God. God to men and men to
God. There were three requirements
for worship in the Old Testament, a tabernacle, a high priest,
and blood, a sin offering. And the same thing is true today.
The tabernacle is Christ. He tabernacled among us. A body
hast thou prepared me. He is the great high priest.
We have a priest. We have a high priest. Therefore,
come boldly into the presence of God. And the blood? It's His
own blood. And so this high priest of the
Old Testament was ordained of God for men in everything pertaining
to God. He represented all the people
of God. He appeared before God in their
stead. They didn't all come. He came. representing those people. He
was the only one who could come into the Holy of Holies. He was
the only one who sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat over
the ark. And the high priest stood between
a holy God and sinful man, and he stood there with something
to offer. He stood there with the sin offering
and the atonement, and it was impossible to approach God except
through the high priest. Now, in all these things, in
all these things, we, though we're kings and priests under
God, we have a great high priest. It says, seeing we have a great
high priest over the house of God. We have a... And he was
ordained and appointed of God for us in everything pertaining
to God, holiness, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, In Him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." In Galatians 4, verse
4 and 5, listen, in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son
made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were
under the law. That's why God sent Him. And
He said, This is My Son, hear ye Him. And again, God, who at
sundry times and in divers manners spake to our fathers by the prophets,
hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son. God sent Jesus
Christ. God ordained and appointed and
anointed Jesus Christ our Lord. And he represents us before God. And God will not speak to nor
be spoken to. by a sinner except through Christ.
No man can know God or come to God except through Christ Jesus,
our great high priest. He said, I'm the way, the truth,
and the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. He said, no man has seen God
at any time. The only begotten hath declared
him. No man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the
Son will reveal him. They said, well, show us the
Father. He said, he that hath seen me had seen my Father."
My friends, Jesus Christ. I told you a moment ago, the
Old Testament high priest entered into the Holy of Holies once
a year, not without blood. He was the only one who could
come into the Shekinah glory of presence of the Shekinah glory
of God and offer a sacrifice, an atonement, there in the tabernacle
in the Holy of Holies. But Jesus Christ, now listen
to this, Hebrews 9, turn to Hebrews 9, 11 and 12. He entered not
the holy place made with hands, but Christ barely entered into
heaven itself before the throne of God Almighty, making an atonement
for our sins. That's the difference in this
Old Testament priesthood and the priesthood of Christ. This
high priest in the Old Testament, there were many of them. Christ
is one. There were many of them. Avon
was a high priest, different ones after him. And then these
Old Testament priests served for a brief time, just a lifetime,
and they died. Christ is a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. Remember Melchizedek who met
Abraham out there in the wilderness and gave him bread and wine and
blessed him, called the priest of God, the king of Salem, The
great high priest of God, that's a picture of Christ without mother,
without father, without beginning of days, without end of days,
being a priest of God forever and forever. That's our high
priest. That's our great high priest.
And then these Old Testament priests offered many sacrifices. Think how many times that Passover
was served, that atoning sacrifice. Think how many times it was made.
Well, He, by one offering, Christ, our great high priest, by one
offering, hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. One
sacrifice. You say, well, how can one death,
one sacrifice, one shedding of blood put away the sins of so
very, very many because of who He is? Because of who He is. And these Old Testament priests
offered animal blood. Christ gave himself, his own
blood. How much more shall the blood
of Christ purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God? And then these Old Testament priests ministered
in a tabernacle. Here on the earth, Christ entered
not a tabernacle made with hands. He entered into heaven itself,
heaven itself. And by one offering, he perfected
forever every believer. He obtained eternal redemption
for us. He put away sin. You see, the
sacrifices of the Old Testament couldn't put away sin. You know,
a lot of people have the idea that people were saved in different
ways, saved under innocence and then conscience and then judges
and then law and now grace and later some other. No, no, no.
Men have always been redeemed one way, by the grace of through
faith in the blood of the Lamb. And this Old Testament animal
sacrifices could not put away sin. All the blood of bulls and
goats on Jewish altars slain could never remove our guilt
or cleanse our stain, but the blood of Christ. You see, blood
sacrifice will not put away human sin, but Christ being human and
divine, man and God, As God, He could satisfy. As man, He
could suffer and die. And He effectually put away all
our sins. And you know, the Old Testament
priests, if you notice something about the tabernacle, there were
no chairs in there. There were seven pieces of furniture
but no chair. You know why? Because their sacrifices
and their work and their offerings and all of these ceremonies were
never finished. They could never put away sin.
But he, after he had offered one sacrifice for sin forever,
sat down. He sat down, having finished
his work. Listen, now I want you to go
to that Hebrews 9, 11, and 12 again. Now listen to this. But
Christ, being come, a high priest of good things to come. What
are those good things? Sanctification, justification,
righteousness, eternal life. good things to come. By a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is,
not this building, not that tabernacle in the wilderness or that temple
over there, He tabernacled among us. A body Thou hast prepared
Me, He said, a body Thou hast prepared Me. Yes, the Word was
made flesh and tabernacled among us, dwelt among us. And we beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. Now read on. By a greater and
more perfect tabernacle, neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by His own blood, He entered in once. That's the reason we
don't celebrate Mass, is because Christ doesn't die but once.
The blood didn't shed over and over and over again. The body
of Christ isn't broken over and over again, just one. By one
offering, He has perfected forever. By His blood, He entered in once
into the holy place within the veil. You see, that old veil
when Christ died on the cross was rent in twain. We don't have
any secret sanctuaries. We don't have any inner sanctums.
We don't have any place where somebody secretly goes behind
a veil and does some hocus-pocus in religion and throws water
and things like, that's all done away. The ceremony and sacrifice
is over. The veil's rented in two. The
Holy of Holies is open. Everybody as a priest comes to
God. But we have a high priest. He's
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and nobody else. Having obtained,
listen, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained
eternal redemption for us. He obtained it. And that's past
tense. He obtained it. He obtained it. It's not being obtained. He obtained
it. It's finished. It's done. The
great transaction's done. I am my Lord's and He is mine.
And Hebrews 9, 15 says, And for this cause, because He is the
high priest of good things to come, because He died on the
cross for our sins, because He wrought out a perfect righteousness,
because he entered in once into the holy place, because he sat
down at the right hand of God. For this cause, he only is the
mediator of the new covenant. He only is the mediator. What's that new covenant? It's
a covenant of grace. It's the opposite of the covenant
of works. It's not a covenant of law or morality or good works. It's a covenant of God's grace.
It's the only place where you have any hope, sinner. Only place
you have a prayer. The only place you have any opportunity
at all to know God, and He's the mediator. There's no other.
You can't pray to a saint or to a dead man or to a woman.
You only pray to God through Christ. He's the mediator. He
is the great high priest. He has some what to offer. These
folks don't have anything to offer. 1 Timothy 2, 5 says there's
one God and there's one mediator between God and men, and that's
the man Christ Jesus. And being made perfect, He became
the author of eternal salvation unto all that obey Him and all
who believe Him. Now, do you understand a little
better that Scripture that I read at the beginning? Do you? Let's look at it again, Hebrews
4, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14,
14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, He'll be the seed of Abraham.
He'll be of the root of Jesse, the tribe of Judah, the family
of David. He'll be a priest forever like
Melchizedek, a king like David, a prophet like Moses. Someone's
coming. The New Testament says He has
come. He has come. He is here. He's the great high
priest. He's God. His name is Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. He is a high priest. That is, He's exalted above exaltation. the high priest. That's where
I want to go, to the high priest, the high priest. That is, passed
into the heavens. He was on earth. He was raised
from the grave. He's Jesus, the Son of God. So
let's hold fast our profession, and let's come bold into the
presence of God, and we'll find mercy and grace to help. All
right, this message, Christ, our high priest, is on a cassette
tape. with another message I'll bring next week. If you want
it, send $2. We'll mail it to you. Till next
week, God bless you.

Christ, Our High Priest

What does the Bible say about Jesus as our High Priest?

How do we know that every believer is a priest?

Why is it important to understand Christ as our Great High Priest?

What does it mean that Christ is a priest forever?

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Christ, Our High Priest

What does the Bible say about Jesus as our High Priest?

How do we know that every believer is a priest?

Why is it important to understand Christ as our Great High Priest?

What does it mean that Christ is a priest forever?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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