><>...JESUS the CHRIST...><>
E. His Priestly Office. While the Old Testament prophet represented God before the people, the priest represented the people before God. So Christ represents His people before the Father (Heb. 3:1; 4:14).
The Bible tells us that a priest must be appointed by God. He must act on man's behalf in things that pertain to God. For example, He must make sacrifices and offerings for sins, intercede for the people He represents, and bless them (Heb. 5:1; 7:25; cf. Lev. 9:22).
Jesus presented Himself as a priestly sacrifice. The Old Testament sacrifices were expiatory (because they “put away” sin, thus restoring the worshiper to the blessings and privileges God intended for him) and vicarious (because another life was offered for sin instead of the life of the worshiper). Christ's once-for-all sacrifice was both expiatory and vicarious, and it gained for His people eternal salvation.
Christ reconciles the sinner to God. God expressed His love for mankind by sending Christ to redeem us from our sins (John 3:16). In every event, God has attempted to bring His creatures back to Him. So when Christ came into the world, there was no change in God Himself, only a change in His relation to sinners. Christ's sacrifice covered the guilt that stood between sinners and God.
Christ also intercedes for His people (Heb. 7:25). He entered the Holy Place of heaven by means of the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice that He offered to the Father. In so doing, He represented those who put their faith in Him and reinstated them before the Father (Heb. 9:24).
In the presence of God, Christ now answers the constant accusations of the devil against believers (Rom. 8:33–34). Our prayers and services are tainted with sin and imperfection; Christ perfects them in the eyes of the Father, speaking constantly to the Father in our behalf. Finally, Christ prays for believers. He pleads for the needs we do not mention in our prayers—things that we ignore, underestimate, or do not see. He does this to protect us from danger and sustain us in faith until we attain victory in the end. He also prays for those who have not yet believed. He constantly does this intercessory work.
Nelson's illustrated manners and customs of the Bible |
