Jesus is our high priest
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; – 1 Timothy 2:5
The Bible describes the human condition as totally depraved and distorted by sin (Jeremiah 17:9; Psalm 14:1-3)and further states that all sin surely leads to death (Romans 3:23).
Yet God is holy and without sin, neither does He have any tendencies of evil (Psalm 5:5; Isaiah 6:3). The holy nature of God requires that all that have fellowship with Him also be holy.
Therefore, if our reconciliation with God is to be achieved we needed a person with clean hands to offer sacrifices for our sins before God (Psalm 24:3-4). Furthermore, God requires nothing less than the shedding of blood to satisfy His justice. This is due to the gravity of the human nature to commit sin; death to that nature was the only means to overcome it. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).
God has immense love for the world (John 3:16) and the only hope for people’s salvation rests in His hands(Psalm 68:20), therefore, God sent Jesus Christ His Son to destroy death and the power of death upon us, which is sin (1 John 3:8; 1 Corinthians 15:56-57).
Next week we will look at how Jesus served as our High Priest in His death and what He offered to God on our behalf.
