The role of the High Priest in the Old Testament was central to the religious life of Israel, serving as the mediator between God and His people. This office reached its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is described in the New Testament as the Great High Priest. Through His sacrificial death and resurrection, Christ made reconciliation between God and humanity, a theme that is richly developed in the New Testament, particularly in the book of Hebrews.

Old Testament Background

In the Old Testament, the High Priest was responsible for offering sacrifices on behalf of the people, particularly on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Leviticus 16 outlines the rituals performed by the High Priest to atone for the sins of Israel, including the offering of a bull and a goat, and the sprinkling of blood on the mercy seat. These acts symbolized the temporary covering of sins and pointed forward to a more perfect atonement.

Christ as the High Priest

The New Testament book of Hebrews presents Jesus as the fulfillment of the High Priest's role. Hebrews 4:14-16 states, "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Reconciliation through Christ

The concept of reconciliation is central to understanding Christ's priestly work. Reconciliation refers to the restoration of a broken relationship between God and humanity. Romans 5:10-11 explains, "For if, while we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

Christ's sacrifice was once and for all, unlike the repeated sacrifices of the Old Testament. Hebrews 9:12 affirms, "He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption."

The Perfect Sacrifice

Jesus, as the sinless Son of God, offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 7:26-27 describes Him as "holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself."

Mediator of a New Covenant

Christ's priestly work also established a new covenant between God and humanity. Hebrews 8:6 states, "But now Jesus has received a more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises." This new covenant, prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34, is characterized by the internalization of God's laws and a direct, personal relationship with Him.

Access to God

Through Christ's priestly work, believers have direct access to God. Hebrews 10:19-22 encourages believers, "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

In summary, Jesus Christ, as the Great High Priest, accomplished what the Old Testament priesthood could only foreshadow. Through His perfect sacrifice, He made reconciliation between God and humanity, offering eternal redemption and establishing a new covenant that grants believers direct access to the Father.Hebrews 2:17
Why in all things it behooved him to be made like to his brothers, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

The Great High-Priest.
... Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hands ... us.[65] The Apostle has
said that Christ is Son ... He is also High-priest over the house of God, having ...
/.../chapter iv the great high-priest.htm

St. Ambrose Returns to the Main Question, and Shows that Whenever ...
... the blood of bulls and goats, this High Priest was indeed ... Melchizedek, then, have
we received as a priest of God made upon the model of Christ, but the one ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter xi st ambrose returns.htm

How Christ is to be Made Use of as Our Life, in Case of ...
... is given unto him; all things are made subject to him ... 4. They would take up Christ
under all his heart ... a careful shepherd, a fellow-feeling high priest, a loving ...
/.../brown/christ the way the truth and the life/chapter xxii how christ is.htm

Guiltless and Without Sin.
... "For such an High Priest became us ... Throughout the ages the Church has confessed that
Christ took upon Himself ... in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xviii guiltless and without sin.htm

How to Make Use of Christ as the Truth, that we May Get Our Case ...
... Look out to Christ, as a feeling High Priest, faithful and ... And as a Priest, "that
is touched with the ... Albeit Christ, in the deepest of his darkness, was never ...
/.../brown/christ the way the truth and the life/chapter xvii how to make.htm

A Glorious vision.
... He is now "the merciful and faithful high Priest." "For in ... has raised us up together,
and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Eph. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/gaebelein/the lord of glory/a glorious vision.htm

Fifth Sunday in Lent
... For all these things hath my hand made, and so all ... Christ's words are (John 14, 3),
"And if I go and ... 9. According to Leviticus 16, the high priest must once a ...
//christianbookshelf.org/luther/epistle sermons vol ii/fifth sunday in lent.htm

From the Epistle to the Hebrews.
... Himself." [382] And once more: "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made
with hands ... should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into ...
/.../augustine/anti-pelagian writings/chapter 50 from the epistle to.htm

Christ Our Mediator. --Continued.
... throne of grace." The fact that our high priest, or intercessor ... mediator through
whom the petition is made, rather than ... be in the name of Jesus Christ; and that ...
/.../x christ our mediator continued.htm

The Priest of the World and King of Men
... in nature and character, so in function, Christ corresponds to ... who is 'a merciful
and faithful High Priest to make ... is for us entered, even Jesus, made an High ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/the priest of the world.htm

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