God's Story Is Our Story: From Acts to New CreationSample

The book of Hebrews is a long exhortation to not give up on Christianity. It seems that there were some early Christians in danger of throwing in the towel. Due to all of the Old Testament references, it seems that the primary alternative was returning to an Old Testament form of Judaism with its sacrifices and priestly system.

During the Old Testament, the people needed a priest to represent them before God and to represent God to the people. People need a priest because we are all prone to delusions about God and his will and to self-justifications. But, the problem with the priests in the Old Testament is that the priests were sinners as well. They did not follow God's laws themselves, were often indifferent towards people and their struggles, and even took advantage of people for their own gain. This led to all kinds of corruption in their religious worship and in the lives of the people. The people were in need of a good priest who was just and faithful to God, but one who would also be merciful to humans.

This kind of priest is exactly what we have in the person of Jesus according to the author of Hebrews. Jesus, as God, could represent what he is like and what his will is.  Since Jesus also took on a whole human nature, he can represent us to God. He experienced the full gambit of being a human being, was tempted, and suffered. He is a sympathetic and faithful priest. He was without sin, showing a power over sin that we lack and that every other human priest lacks..

Jesus has become the great high priest and now helps us as we face temptation. He helps us say no to temptation, but also helps us to not give in to despair and loathing when we fail. Jesus is the priest the world had long been waiting for and the priest we need.