Hebrews 5:1-6 (HCSB)
For every high priest taken from men is appointed in service to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he is also subject to weakness. Because of this, he must make a sin offering for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, the Messiah did not exalt Himself to become a high priest, but the One who said to Him, You are My Son; today I have become Your Father, also said in another passage, You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
The writer of Hebrews pointed out three key things about earthly high priests. First, they are selected and appointed to their role. Second, they are given the responsibility to represent the people before God by offering gifts and sacrifices for sins. And, finally, they are mere human beings who are sinful themselves, and thus have to offer sacrifices for their own sins before they can come into God’s presence.
Thus, earthly high priests are different from Jesus in two important ways. The high priest presents gifts brought to him by the people to pay for their sins. But Jesus brings the sacrifice of his own blood and suffering to pay for the sins of the world. And Jesus, being absolutely sinless does not have to bring a sacrifice for his own sins before He can approach God. He continually lives in God presence and intercedes for his people constantly.
The one thing both have in common is that they don’t take on the job of high priest of their own volition. Each was specifically called to fulfill that role. In Jesus’ day and afterwards, the high priest was chosen by the Sanhedrin, but the man chosen had to be not only from the tribe of Levi, he had to be from the line of Zadok (Ezekiel 44:15, 48:11). It was assumed that, because the Sanhedrin was a governing body for the whole nation of Israel, God would guide them in choosing the right man for the job.
But Jesus was selected specifically by God to be the high priest for his people forever, as was shown in the prophetic passages of Scripture cited by the writer. Psalm 2:7 shows that the Messiah was the legitimate Son of God, begotten by Him. And Psalm 110:4 shows that God’s Son has been anointed as an eternal priest, not from the Aaronic order, but from a new order of priests: the order of Melchizedek, the king and priest of Salem (Genesis 14:18-20).
Father, it is easy to see that many things in the Old Testament, specifically the sacrifices and the priesthood, were foreshadows of things to come, placeholders until Jesus came to fulfill them completely. After Jesus approached your throne with the sacrifice of His own blood, no more sacrifices were necessary or acceptable to You. And no other high priest was needed to bring sacrifices, since the key sacrifice of Your own Lamb had been made once for all. Thank You for these great truths, Lord! Amen.