Slices
Prepare
Romans 8:31 tells us that ‘God is for us’. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a ‘head and heart’ understanding of this truth today.
Bible passage
23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives for ever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
26 Such a high priest truly meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect for ever.
Explore
Once again, the writer of the Hebrews is asking us to compare the Levite priests to Jesus, making the point that Jesus’ priesthood is different from and far superior to the priesthood established under Moses.
In the Old Testament, the high priest was the mediator between the people and God. He made daily offerings of incense and food, regular animal sacrifices for the people’s unintentional sin and the yearly atonement sacrifices to deal with his own sin and the people’s sin. These animal sacrifices never fully dealt with sin, which is why the high priest had to offer them again and again. Jesus’ offering of himself was the final, definitive and perfect sacrifice since he was ‘holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners’ (v 26). No more animal sacrifices need to be made. Our guilt and our sin have been dealt with.
The Levite priests all abandoned their priestly role when they died. Not so Jesus. His resurrection and ascension mean that he continually mediates for us (v 25) and this means that he saves us ‘completely’, or in Raymond Brown’s words, ‘We have been saved, we are being saved and we shall be saved.’*
*R Brown, The Message of Hebrews (Bible Speaks Today), IVP, 2021
Respond
Come to Jesus today, confident that he has dealt with your sin, he is making you holy and ultimately he will bring you into the presence of God (Jude 24).
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Jeremiah 38,39; John 14
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for Mission Partner Doncaster Schools Worker Trust who leads collective worship and takes RE lessons in a growing number of this large borough’s primary and secondary schools. Pray for Linda, Ellie, Helen and Dan as they engage with young people and connect with local churches.
