Daily Devotions
A High Priest Made Perfect Forever
Title: A High Priest Made Perfect Forever
By Joshua Carter
Reading for October 18: Mark 10-11
Weekly reading for October 14-20: Hebrews 6-9
Depending on where you are in life, there’s a pretty decent chance that you have some family members or friends that you’re close to. You’ve probably had either grandparents or parents that you’ve had tremendous respect for. If you’re especially blessed, you’ve had people in your life that you were certain loved you and cared about you. Because these relationships are built on trust, you may have even felt very comfortable opening yourself up completely to someone like that.
This is especially true among peers. It’s one thing to know someone else cares about you, but to know someone else has felt the exact same feelings as you adds another element to the relationship entirely. The more we believe someone both cares about and identifies with our problems, the more confidence we can have in that person to genuinely seek our well-being.
God brings people like that into our lives for our own good. Under the Law of Moses, God brought priests to Israel for their own good. He intentionally selected high priests from among the people’s peers so that they would “deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since [they themselves were] beset with weakness” (Hebrews 5:2). He wanted the priests to understand what the people were going through so that the people could trust their priests.
The problem with people, though, is that every single person will be a disappointment sometime. A moment of weakness or forgetfulness can suddenly empty a vault full of trust that’s been built up over several years. And even the best, most exceptionally compassionate grandfather will disappoint you at some point because one day he just won’t be around anymore.
So here’s the problem. God wanted to give us a high priest that we could trust–someone that we could know for certain understands our struggles. But He also wanted to give us a high priest that would never disappoint us, or leave us, or die. Essentially, God wanted to appoint a perfect high priest that we could trust completely, and to do that for us, He knew that the one appointed would have to be both man and God. To lack either component would leave something to be desired.
So to solve the problem, God did the unimaginable. God “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). As Jesus Christ, God Himself tasted human weakness, pain, and suffering–more than anyone else ever has. “And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Heb. 5:9).
The result is that we have a high priest who is perfect in every way. Divinity has experienced humanity. Consequently, he is able both “to sympathize with our weaknesses” and to “hold His priesthood permanently, because He continues forever” (Heb. 4:15; 7:24). “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). And so, because God loves us enough to supply our greatest need, our high priest “has been made perfect forever” (Heb. 7:28).
Thank you God for giving us a perfect high priest in the only way possible. You gave us Yourself, and out of our sincere gratitude, we give ourselves to You. We love because You first loved us.
