City Life Starter

By Megan Meier

The Word

^“23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴ but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.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. ²⁶ For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.”

Hebrews 7:23-28 (ESV)

Reflection

The author of the letter to the Hebrews (it’s not known who the author was, some say the Apostle Paul, but this isn’t confirmed) was writing to the Messianic Jews (and it’s not known where they were either), they would have had a thorough understanding of the Old Testament. They would have known about the priesthood through the Levite line (Exodus 28:1) and the required sacrifices for The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur in Hebrew) (Leviticus 16) as they would have observed this day once a year. We learned last week on that day the Israelites offered animal sacrifices, to symbolically remove their sins, and as a reminder of the severity of their offenses towards God. The High Priest, Aaron, was to make multiple animal sacrifices, for himself and the Israelites, and let a goat go free in the wilderness to symbolize that their sin was gone. But Aaron himself made quite a few bad choices (Exodus 32:1-24, Numbers 12:1-11) and eventually died (Numbers 20:28). The priests that came after were also far from perfect and had to retire from the priesthood. 

Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, He became both the High Priest and our Sacrifice. His cousin John referred to Him as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus represents us and takes on our sins. Jesus had no need to offer animal sacrifices as He was the Sacrifice. Jesus paid the price with His own innocent blood. His priesthood is permanent as He is Living and still makes intercession for us. When He died, our sins died with Him, and the Way back to God was opened (Mark 15:37-38). But He didn’t stay dead, He rose back from the dead and ascended into Heaven (Mark 16:6,19), making Him our only Living Priest. 

Application

The author of Hebrews wanted the messianic Jews to know there was no longer a need for animal sacrifices or of relying on earthly priests for access to God because Jesus the Messiah paid the price of our sins once and for all and He still lives. It can be difficult to change a certain way of thinking, especially if it has been taught for centuries. Is there something in your life you’ve practiced for a long time, or has even been ingrained in you through generations, but you realize it’s no longer fitting or there is a better way?

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You that You are the True Priest and Sacrifice. Thank You for taking my sins and intervening on my behalf. Grant me the wisdom to see what I need to let go and what I need to embrace in my life and the courage to act upon it and persevere. In Your Name I pray, amen.