Our High Priest – why we can pray

Our High Priest – why we can pray

A priest is a representative between God and man.  It is the only way to God.

Beginning with
Creation, mankind has interacted with God the Spirit in Heaven.  A separation exists that goes beyond distance
– a condition because of sin.  It is the
chasm between the timeless and spiritual realm of the God and the physical
Creation.  The only hope we have of
crossing this separation is through God making it possible.  He has chosen to use men as priests for this.

There have
always been men who were priests of God. 
After the Fall, a few of those illustrated in the Bible include Adam,
Enoch, and Noah.  After the Flood were
Abraham, Melchisedec, Jethro, and Moses. 
And after the Law were Aaron, his sons and descendants, Samuel, and
Annas and Caiaphas.

God increasingly showed this truth in Moses and the Law

In these people
we see God’s example of what is required of those who would interact with
Him.  With the Law being handed down
through Moses, and with it His directions to him for the Tabernacle, God began
laying out the foundation for our understanding of the priesthood.  God was very specific in instructing Moses to
carefully follow His design and commands, because the Tabernacle and the Law
were facsimiles, or representations, of how God governs.  The overall theme is that God has
expectations, which he knows we won’t meet, and that He alone mercifully
provides the way in making up for our shortfall.

Many facets of
God’s provision are shown through the Tabernacle and it’s priests– the physical
parts of the Tabernacle and the special areas inside of it, the court, the
curtain, the alters, the candlestick and Ark of the Covenant, the High Priest,
his garments and his duties, the sacrifices and Atonement, and most of all, the
Holy of Holies.  The High Priest was
responsible for utilizing all of these things while representing God and His
special people of Israel to each other.

The High
Priest’s duties centered around service through sacrifices to maintain daily
forgiveness for Israel’s sins, as well as for offerings to God in worship.  The daily morning and evening sacrifices,
along with the burning of incense as a part of prayer, were essential to
Israel’s relationship with God.  And
finally, the yearly Day of Atonement was the High Priest’s most significant
responsibility.

In short, the
priest was responsible for continually carrying every single issue of his
people concerning God, upon himself.  It
was a demanding and relentless responsibility. 
Nonetheless, he was commanded by the Law to do this, and all of God’s
people relied upon him with their very lives.

Jesus was sent to assume the perfect High Priesthood

God stated that
He wants His people to grow in useful fellowship with Him.  While the Law and the Tabernacle are exactly
what God intended them to be, He also knew that they would never be able to
achieve what He is ultimately working towards. 
In the end, He knew His goal was ultimately a superior priest who would
utilize the genuine Holy of Holies in Heaven. 
This priest would be tireless and without any personal sin hindering
him, he would have a
fully sufficient sacrifice to satisfy God in both atonement and worship, and he
would never surrender his office through death. 
And finally, he would be of a totally different lineage than that of
Aaron and the Levites, because this priest would offer a better covenant.

Jesus’
Incarnation and work up through His return to the Father was all in making Him
this superior High Priest.  With His
establishment at the Father’s right hand in the Holiest place of all, the old
order of the Levitical priesthood was put aside.  The covenant through Moses, responsible for
establishing that facsimile, is now put aside by a new covenant through Jesus.  Every means the old order possessed to carry
out their duties has been removed.  <<<Today there are no legitimate earthly Levitical
priests>>>, no Tabernacle, <<<no
sacrifices>>>, nor any atonement that God recognizes as
superior from mankind.  However, the need
of a priest still remains, and the Priesthood continues today through Jesus the
Christ.

Every Christian’s interaction with God is only through God’s perfect High Priest

Anyone who
would have interaction and forgiveness from God will still find it through a
priest.  Because Jesus is the only priest
recognized by God, it is quite true when He said ‘no one may see the Father,
but by Me’.  Our service to God in prayer
requires our access to God, our being seen without sin, and our faithful priest
Who is in constant intercession on our behalf. 
Our adoption through Jesus paved the way for us to serve God, but we
still must be mindful of His continuing requirements from us.  Our failure to follow His commands will hinder
our ability to serve Him well.  Because
He tells us to serve Him, and because He has paved the way – except for taking
responsibility for our own personal obedience – we must consider what would
hinder our work, and strive to do our best for His sake.