What does it mean that Jesus is our High Priest?

Answer

High Priest is just one of the many titles given to Jesus: Messiah, Savior, Son of God, Son of Man, Friend of Sinners, and more. Each title highlights a specific aspect of His identity and its significance for us. In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is referred to as a High Priest (Hebrews 2:17;Hebrews 4:14). The term “priest” carries two main meanings. Firstly, it denotes someone who mediates in religious ceremonies. Secondly, it signifies someone who is holy or consecrated to carry out those ceremonies.

The first mention of this term in the Bible is in Genesis 14. Abraham, known as the friend of God, went to battle to rescue his nephew Lot, who had been taken captive by the army of Elam. Upon his return, Abraham encountered Melchizedek, the King of Salem and the priest of the Most High God. Melchizedek, whose name means “king of righteousness,” blessed Abraham and praised the Most High God for granting victory to Abraham. In response to this blessing, Abraham gave a tithe (10 percent) of all the spoils of war to Melchizedek, acknowledging his esteemed position as God’s priest.

Generations later, Levi, Abraham’s great-grandson, was chosen by God to be the patriarch of the priestly tribe. When the Law was given at Mount Sinai, the Levites were designated as the attendants of the Tabernacle, while the descendants of Aaron became the priests. The priests were tasked with interceding for the people by offering the various sacrifices mandated by the law. From among the priests, one was appointed as the High Priest, who entered the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the Ark of the Covenant «But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: », (Hebrews 9:7). Through these daily and yearly sacrifices, the sins of the people were temporarily covered until the Messiah came to remove their sins.

When Jesus is referred to as our High Priest, it relates to both of these previous priesthoods. Similar to Melchizedek, He is appointed as a priest apart from the Law given on Mount Sinai “As he says also in another place, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.'” , (Hebrews 5:6). Like the Levitical priests, Jesus offered a sacrifice to fulfill the Law of God when He offered Himself for our sins (Hebrews 7:26-27). In contrast to the Levitical priests, who had to repeatedly offer sacrifices, Jesus only needed to offer His sacrifice once, securing eternal redemption for all who approach God through Him “not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” , (Hebrews 9:12).

Another crucial aspect of Jesus’ priesthood is that every priest is chosen from among men. Jesus, although God from eternity, became a man to experience death and serve as our High Priest “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” , (Hebrews 2:9). As a man, He was subject to all the weaknesses and temptations that we face, enabling Him to personally understand us in our struggles “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” , (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus surpasses all other priests, hence He is referred to as our “Great High Priest” in Hebrews 4:14. This designation grants us the confidence to approach “the throne of grace, to receive mercy, and find grace to help in times of need” «Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.», (Hebrews 4:16 KJV).