Jesus: The True High Priest

Here are some thoughts on this week's lesson, The Efficacy of His Priestly Ministry (Lesson 12).

Once again the topic for this week is one that is controversial and at times divisive. The founding of the Seventh-day Adventist church and the doctrine of the pre-Advent (or Investigative) judgment are closely tied to the topic of the heavenly sanctuary and Jesus' ministry as High Priest.

Again, I want to ask the question, "Why does any of this matter?" What difference does it make, particularly as it pertains to daily living in the real world?

The Study Guide asks this same question and proposes an answer (Thursday),

"It probably has something to do with loyalty and faithfulness...

"The way has been made for us, through Jesus, to approach God in the heavenly sanctuary. And to follow Jesus by faith into the sanctuary is not only to have one's soul cleansed by His marvelous grace but also to experience a new appreciation for His immutable law... This transaction... defines the difference the sanctuary teaching makes for us. By faith we enter with full assurance into that sacred place where Jesus ministers. And there, against all possible odds, we cling to the One... Thus anchored, we do not drift -- not into a view of the law that leads to the abandonment of God's holy Sabbath and not into evolutionary conceptions of origins that seek to dethrone the living God from His own universe. The doctrine of the sanctuary thus becomes a protection for us against rebellion and secures for God a faithful remnant in a revolted world."

Before I continue to develop how I've come to look at the topic of the heavenly sanctuary and Jesus as High Priest, I have to digress and point out what I see as a serious error in the Teacher's comments on p. 147 under Step 4. The whole section reads (bold emphasis supplied):

"For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time." (1 Tim. 2:5,6 NASB)

During the second century Irenaeus of Lyons taught that Jesus was offered as a ransom to the devil to free peoples' souls. The devil, however, was defeated because he did not know that Jesus was God Himself!

For hundreds of years this theory was adopted by the Christian world, until Anselm of Canterbury pointed out that Irenaeus's theory assumed that the devil had far too much power. Instead, Anselm said that Jesus' life was paid to God and not to the devil!

What a more poignant picture that makes -- Jesus' life given as a ransom to God in exchange for my eternal life!

It may be "poignant" for some, but for most I believe this is the very picture of God that turns them off. It pictures a god that requires appeasement. It pictures a god who is never truly satisfied. It pictures a god who reluctantly saves because Jesus makes him do it. It is a picture that is completely at odds with what the book of Hebrews (and the rest of the New Testament) is trying to show.

George R. Knight in The Cross of Christ (pp. 69-70) explains how the text in 1 Timothy (above) is a metaphor. He explains that the ransom described does not need a specific recipient. The concept of a ransom helps explain an aspect of Christ's work of salvation, namely that of freeing people from slavery to sin itself.

[End digression.]

I believe that this week's study and the book of Hebrews can be summarized by its first four verses --

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV)

In my processing the topic this week, I've come to the realization that in the big picture, the Hebrew sanctuary, the temple, and all its services were meant to reveal God more fully. The earthly high priest was seen as the representative of God, and as such was to reflect God's character and also bring people to God. The offerings and sacrifices were meant to remove obstacles that the people themselves had put up between themselves and God. The sins of the people made them afraid to approach God, and so they needed tangible means of obtaining assurance that they could be purified before they came close to God.

All these, however, being human failed to accomplish their intended purposes. Oftentimes they ended up driving people away from God rather than bringing them to Him. It was for this reason that Jesus came as the true High Priest, the only One (because He was also God) who could represent and accurately portray God to people. Through His actions and through the cross, Jesus demonstrated that there is no obstacle big enough that could keep God and people apart. Jesus took care of the sin problem. No obstacle, other than a person's own choice, stands between him or her and God. Throughout His life, Jesus' mission was to bring people to God.

In John's gospel account, we encounter themes of replacement (see Jon Paulien's commentary on John). One of these is the replacement of the earthly temple with Jesus Himself. Thus I tend to understand the High Priest, Sanctuary, and the work of mediating (or more accurately, reconciling or bringing together) the new covenant in the book of Hebrews as all coming together in Jesus Christ. I see it as both a completed work (as revealed in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection) but also an ongoing one through the Holy Spirit as Christ's disciples today bring people the gospel message.

Jesus continues His work of representing God via the Holy Spirit working through us. Jesus continues His work of drawing people to the Father via the Holy Spirit working through us. Jesus continues His work of removing obstacles, both real and perceived, via the Holy Spirit working through us. (See John 13-17.)

Perhaps why any of this matters to me is the assurance that God continues to be with me today, and that I have nothing to fear from God. I know this because Jesus has represented God completely faithfully and accurately. Because I am certain of this, in turn I can be an instrument in God's hands of spreading the message of God's true character to the world. This, I believe, is the central message of Hebrews.