Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 7:25

The chief role of the High Priest in ancient Israel was to intercede with God for the people.  The writer of Hebrews is explaining to his Jewish readers that Christ is a greater High Priest from a higher order of priesthood than the Aaronic priesthood with which they were familiar.  In order to explain this difference, he refers them to Melchizedek from Genesis 14.  He asserts that Christ is ‘a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.’  He goes on to demonstrate how Christ is able to do more by His priesthood than all the other priests were ever able to do.  One of those things to which he refers is our text for today, ‘wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.’  This falls in line with the theme we have been pursuing over the past days.  Christ has come for us, lived for us, died for us, and now intercedes for us.  This is cause for joy, gladness, love and gratitude.  We have this Intercessor in the very Throne Room of the Living God.  He ‘ever lives to make intercession for us.’  We may pray with confidence, live with confidence, confess our sins with confidence, and even die with confidence knowing that Christ, ‘ever lives to make intercession for us.’  Today, let us take in all that Christ is doing for us.

Our Glorious, Living God,
we rejoice that Christ has made a way for us
into Your very Presence.
We praise You that as we approach Your Throne
we may do so with great confidence
knowing that Christ’s intercession will always succeed.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

‘Once For All’

Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

Hebrews 7:27

As we have been discussing these various texts from Hebrews, we have had much to say regarding the priesthood of Christ and of the value of His Perfect Sacrifice.  The author of Hebrews took every opportunity to emphasize these points, and we are following his lead in doing the same thing. Today, we arrive at our text and emphasize the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ.  Our text follows a statement, in the preceding verse, of Christ’s perfect qualification, and suitability to be our High Priest. Because He supersedes the High Priests of the Aaronic Order, He is able to offer His Own Blood as a better Sacrifice than theirs.  They entered the Veil of the Temple once a year. He has ‘entered the Veil,’ in spiritual terms, once-for-all. This is the primary emphasis of our text. Christ has made the once-for-all sacrifice for sins. We all have sins which require atonement. All the sacrifices ever offered, over all the course of Human history cannot atone for these sins.  Christ has come, ‘to give Himself a ransom for many.’ He has done what no one else could do. He has offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sins. His sacrifice was the once-for-all Sacrifice, and it is all we need.

O, Christ, Our Great High Priest,
we rejoice in Your perfect sacrifice.
We praise You that it is all we need to atone for all our sins.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bus is Burning

‘Higher Than the Heavens’

For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.’

Hebrews 7:26

In God’s way of doing things, humiliation precedes exaltation.  We see this pattern throughout Scripture in the accounts of people such as Joseph, Mordecai, and Daniel. In the case of Christ, we behold the same pattern.  Philippians 2 refers to this directly.  Speaking of Him it declares, ‘who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ The next portion of that passage describes His exaltation when it says, ‘Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ This harmonizes with our text for today that Christ, ‘has become higher than the heavens.’  Other passages treat this same subject. As John describes his visions of Christ in the Revelation, he shows us Christ glorified and exalted.  From the first chapter, where he sees Him in glorious splendor, to the last chapters where He appears as Conqueror and Judge. John sets before us, the Christ Who is ‘higher than the heavens.’  The humiliation of Christ has given way to the exaltation of Christ.  We began our experience with God by encountering, ‘gentle Jesus, meek and mild.’  We now experience Him as the Highly Exalted One, Whom God, His Father has elevated before the eyes of all.  Today, we have the blessed opportunity to fix our eyes upon the exalted Christ, Who has ‘become higher than the heavens.’

Our High and Holy God,
we rejoice in the gift of Jesus, gentle and meek.
We praise You that You have raised Him on high,
for all eyes to behold,
in all His Glorious Splendor.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

‘Holy, Harmless, Undefiled….’

For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.’

Hebrews 7:26

How can we describe the Character of Christ, Our High Priest?  Words fail to successfully summarize all that He is.  Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the author of Hebrews piles descriptor upon descriptor to enable us to understand why Christ is the High Priest Who is ‘fitting for us.’  Our text describes Him as ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.’  This is the High Priest of whom we stand in need.  This is the High Priest Who was in the world, yet not of the world.  As the ‘One Mediator between God and Man,’ Christ was the only one who could fulfill all of the demands of the Law of God in precept and in penalty.  His success in accomplishing that satisfaction was absolutely dependent upon Him being, ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.’  Although He was ‘the friend of publicans and sinners,’ yet He did not defile Himself by sinning.  This elevates our understanding of the virtue and value of Christ.  It enables us to see the reason for us to make much of Christ.  It has ever been the message of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.  In a different way and with a different spirit than Pilate of old, we say of Christ, ‘I find no fault in Him.’

Our Holy and Harmless Savior,
we rejoice at Your purity.
We praise You that You are Who we need most,
to bring us into a right relationship with our Holy God.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning