What does it mean that Jesus is our High Priest?
Question 3047
The book of Hebrews makes an extraordinary claim: Jesus, the Son of God, serves as our High Priest. This would have been a startling assertion to Jewish readers, since Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, not Levi, and the high priesthood was hereditary through Aaron’s line. How can Jesus be a High Priest, and what does His priesthood mean for believers today?
The Need for a Priest
To understand why Jesus’ priesthood matters, we need to grasp what priests do. A priest stands between God and humanity. The Hebrew word for priest, כֹּהֵן (kohen), refers to one who serves in a sacred capacity, mediating between the holy God and sinful people. Without a mediator, sinful humans cannot approach a righteous God. The fire that consumed Nadab and Abihu for offering unauthorised incense (Leviticus 10:1–2) demonstrated how dangerous it is to approach God improperly. Priests provided the authorised way.
Under the Mosaic Covenant, the priests offered sacrifices for sin, maintained the tabernacle and temple worship, and taught the Law to the people. The high priest had the unique privilege and responsibility of entering the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) to make atonement for the entire nation. He was the chief mediator between Israel and God.
But this system had limitations. The priests themselves were sinners who had to offer sacrifices for their own sins before they could offer for others (Hebrews 5:3; 7:27). The sacrifices had to be repeated endlessly because they could never truly remove sin – they could only cover it temporarily. And the high priests died, requiring an ongoing succession (Hebrews 7:23). The entire system pointed to something greater.
A Priest After the Order of Melchizedek
Hebrews solves the problem of Jesus’ non-Levitical ancestry by pointing to a different priesthood altogether. Psalm 110:4 prophesied: “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.'” This mysterious figure appears in Genesis 14, where he blessed Abraham after the defeat of the kings. He was “king of Salem” (Jerusalem) and “priest of God Most High” (Genesis 14:18).
What makes Melchizedek significant is precisely what we are not told about him. Hebrews notes that he appears “without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life” (Hebrews 7:3) – meaning Scripture records none of these details. This literary silence makes him a fitting type of Christ, whose priesthood is eternal rather than hereditary. Unlike the Levitical priests who inherited their office and then died, Melchizedek’s priesthood in the text has no beginning or end.
Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek and received his blessing. Since “the inferior is blessed by the superior” (Hebrews 7:7), Melchizedek’s priesthood is greater than the Levitical priesthood that would descend from Abraham through Levi. Jesus, then, is not a priest in an inferior order but in a superior one – one that existed before Levi and supersedes it.
The Superiority of Jesus’ Priesthood
Hebrews systematically demonstrates how Jesus’ high priesthood excels over the Levitical system. Several contrasts stand out.
First, Jesus is sinless. He “has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Unlike Aaron’s descendants, who had to offer sacrifices for their own sins before they could offer for the people, Jesus had no personal sin requiring atonement. He is “holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26). This perfect holiness makes Him the perfect mediator.
Second, Jesus offered Himself. The Levitical priests offered bulls and goats – external sacrifices that could never take away sin (Hebrews 10:4). Jesus “offered up himself” (Hebrews 7:27) – His own body and blood. The sacrifice was not merely animal but divine-human. This is why it has infinite value and can actually accomplish what animal sacrifices only symbolised.
Third, Jesus offered once for all. The Levitical priests stood daily, “offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:11–12). The standing posture of the Old Testament priests indicated their work was never finished. Jesus sits because His work is complete. “It is finished” (John 19:30) was not merely a gasp of dying breath but a declaration of accomplished redemption.
Fourth, Jesus’ priesthood is eternal. “He holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever” (Hebrews 7:24). There will never be another high priest to succeed Him. He is the first and last, the only High Priest we will ever need. His priesthood is not interrupted by death or transferred to a successor. He lives forever to carry out His priestly ministry.
What Jesus Does as High Priest
Jesus’ high priestly work involves both what He accomplished on the cross and what He continues to do in heaven. On the cross, He made atonement for sin. He was simultaneously the priest who offered and the lamb who was offered. He entered not an earthly temple made with hands but “into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24). The Day of Atonement finds its ultimate fulfilment in Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice.
But His work did not end at Calvary. He now “always lives to make intercession” for His people (Hebrews 7:25). When we sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). He represents us before the Father, not pleading for mercy as if the Father were reluctant, but presenting the merits of His finished work. His intercession is not anxious petition but confident advocacy based on accomplished redemption.
He also sympathises with our weaknesses. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). The human experience of Jesus was real. He knows hunger, fatigue, sorrow, and the full weight of temptation. He understands what we face. This is why we can “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Implications for Believers
Because Jesus is our High Priest, we have direct access to God. The veil that separated the Most Holy Place was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died (Matthew 27:51). We do not need another human mediator – no priest, no saint, no Mary – to approach God on our behalf. “There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). In Him, we come boldly to the throne of grace.
We also have security. His intercession guarantees that those who come to God through Him will be saved “to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25). He will not lose any of His own. The finished work of the cross and the ongoing work of intercession together ensure our salvation from beginning to end.
And we have hope. The high priest represented the people before God. Jesus, our representative, has already entered heaven on our behalf. Where He has gone, we will follow. His priesthood assures us that our future is as secure as His presence at the Father’s right hand.
“Therefore he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25
Bibliography
- Bruce, F.F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Eerdmans, 1990.
- Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Messianic Jewish Epistles. Ariel Ministries, 2005.
- Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology. Zondervan, 1994.
- Lane, William L. Hebrews 1–8. Word Biblical Commentary. Word Books, 1991.
- MacArthur, John. Hebrews. MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Moody Publishers, 1983.
- Ryrie, Charles C. Basic Theology. Moody Publishers, 1999.
