We Believe In Jesus: The PriestSample

Jesus Loyal to God: Hebrews 10:19-22

Although there are many aspects of Jesus’ leadership we could highlight, we’ll focus on the same three we mentioned in our survey of the Old Testament background of Jesus’ priestly office, beginning with the leadership he offered in worship.

As the one who would be exalted as the Great High Priest, Jesus did many things to promote true and spiritual worship in the nation of Israel and among his followers. For instance, in Matthew 21:12-13, he drove the merchants and money changers from the temple because they were turning God’s house of prayer into a den of robbers. 

But most importantly, he made it possible for his people to approach God in the Holy Place of the heavenly temple. In the Old Testament, the tabernacle and later the temple were places that heaven and earth intersected. They were special locations where worshipers were simultaneously present on earth and in God’s heavenly court. But in the New Testament, Jesus himself has taken over this function. So, instead of going to a special building to enter God’s heavenly court, Jesus personally takes us there. Through him, we have been accepted into God’s special, holy presence, where we receive the blessing of his fellowship. Consider the way Hebrews 10:19-22 talks about this: 

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Jesus also offered priestly leadership in the form of special guidance in civil and ritual judgments. For example, in Matthew 12:1-8, Jesus provided priestly judgment when his disciples were accused of violating the Sabbath. In Mark 7:19, he pronounced judgments about the ritual cleanness of food. And after healing the leper in Matthew 8, he provided the priestly declaration that the man was ceremonially clean, and commanded him to take the appropriate sacrifice to the temple. Although Jesus commanded the man to show himself to the priests, this was not for the purpose of asking them to judge his condition. Rather, according to Matthew 8:4, it was to be a testimony of Jesus’ power and authority.