High Priest of God

(Hebrews 8:1-2 – High Priest of God)

Every religion and belief system has a High Priest. Whatever they may be called, a high priest exists in every religion and belief system.

1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent which is set up not by man but by the Lord. (Hebrews 8:1-2)

In Judaism the high priest of God was appointed by God. They also had to be a descendant of the first high priest of God, Aaron. And they also had to be of the tribe of Levi from whom all of the priests of God were drawn.

In Christianity, we too have a high priest appointed by God. In Christianity, the high priest of God is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. His high priesthood is different from every other priesthood in existence because His high priesthood is spiritual, not physical. He does not rule over the church on earth, but from heaven, seated at the right hand of God.

The work of the High Priest of God

The high priest of God has a role to play and a job to do. Similarly, the high priests of all other religions have a job to do as well, although there’s is ineffective since they do not worship the one true God and Father.

But the role of the high priest of God is to intervene between man and God. They intercede between man and God for the benefit of those who worship under that priesthood.

If we consider the high priest of the Temple under Judaism, we gain a good insight of how this works. After all, Judaism and the Temple worship were established by God. The Temple worship was a copy of the true worship process that exists in heaven. Being a copy it then gives us some understanding of all aspects of worship in the heavenly places too.

The high priest of God in Judaism had a range of duties. The most important of these was to intercede between man and God. He also was the only one permitted to enter into the Holy of Holies in the Temple, once a year to offer sacrifices to God on the Day of Atonement. On that day, the high priest came into the direct presence of God to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people of Israel, and to hear the word and the will of God.

Jesus as the High Priest of God

Just as the high priest of God in Judaism came into the presence of God to offer sacrifices for sin, so too Jesus came into the presence of God offering His own blood as a sacrifice for the sins of all, not just Israel.

Jesus stands as intercessory between man and God for all who draw near to Him. As the scripture says:

33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; 34 who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Romans 8:33-35)

The work of a high priest of God is to intercede between man and God. This is exactly what Jesus has done and is doing still. He became the sacrifice for sin, taking His own blood into the spiritual sanctuary and Holy of Holies in heaven. And now He sits at the right hand of God as the one who intercedes for those who come to Him.

On Earth as it is in Heaven

It is important to understand that the earthly Temple was a copy of the true Temple in heaven. Our real worship is not about things on this earth. Instead, we are called to worship God in spirit and truth. And as the high priest of God, Jesus stands before the Father in the Spirit to intercede for us.

This verse talks about the “true tent.” When Moses received the Ten Commandments and the law, he was also instructed how to build the tent of meeting. This was the place of worship for Israel after they left Egypt and wandered the wilderness for forty years. The tent of meeting was also used for many years after the Israelites entered the promised land. It was used right up until the time that King Solomon built the first temple in Jerusalem. And the temple resembled the design of the tent, which was a replica of the Temple of God in heaven. There was a court, a holy place, and the holy of holies where the ark of the covenant was kept.

This is similar to the spiritual temple of God in the heavenly places as we seen described in various parts of the Bible. This temple, like the earthly one, is serviced by a priesthood. We see references to Melchizedek in Hebrews and also in the Old Testament, who was a priest of God. And Jesus has become the high priest of God through His sacrifice.

All of this is simply describing the forms and places of worship so that we can understand the spiritual from the physical, and vice versa. This becomes more important as we see the work that Jesus carried out in His sacrifice and the process of salvation from sin.

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