Dear Friends,
Behind the second curtain was a tent called the most holy place. It had the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant,……. The cherubim of glory were above the ark overshadowing the mercy seat.
But the high priest alone enters the second room, and he does that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
But Christ has appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that he might now appear in the presence of God for us.
…and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water
Hebrews 9:3–5,7-8,11-12,24. Hebrews 10:21–22.
It is so good to consider our privilege in our access to the Lord. He is the Lord God Almighty and Jesus has ascended to His rightful place at the right hand of God in the throne room (the Most Holy Place). When He finished His earthly mission to obtain eternal salvation for us, the Lord established a New Covenant ratified by the blood of Jesus which was part of His sacrifice for our sin. The spotless life of Jesus was in His blood.
Under the Old Covenant there was only one priest selected to be sanctified sufficiently to enter the most holy place, hidden from view, and that only once a year under the strictest regulations. He had to use the blood of animals as a token of the covenant which the Lord had established for His people to be His holy people. This priest was called the High Priest. The people of Israel had the privilege of God with them because of this but their sins were never permanently removed and the whole scheme of blood sacrifices was ongoing at the Holy Place appointed. Sin was so shameful and demanded the most embarrassing sacrifice of animals and birds, etc. for the offender. We should learn this fact with reverence as we read the Books of Moses. It is so easy for us to take sin lightly as we pay no price for forgiveness. Yes, we need to repent. When we know what sin means to the Lord, we will want to see it eradicated as much as possible. Certainly, worse than that, to ignore it and say we are under “grace” would be trite and foolish!
How blessed we are to have a Saviour who is also our “Great High Priest”. Yes, God the Son is so great in every way. Our salvation is amazing and even hard to comprehend properly. Our salvation was complete at the Cross, never to need repetition, fortunately. How wonderful that Jesus lived amongst us and fully understands our weaknesses and needs. He is perfectly placed to “stand in the gap” for us before the Father and obtain grace and mercy for us day after day. We receive so much favour from our Father as we come and make our requests known to Him because Jesus is right there in this capacity. Indeed, nothing can now separate us from the love of the One who is Love. When we draw near in humility and purity of heart the Lord loves to receive us and fellowship with us. To engage in faith is then entirely meaningful. His known Presence is everything we need and will always be so.
We draw near to the Lord who is invisible now. Isn’t it wonderful to consider the time will come when the priesthood of Jesus will actually be completed and we are all fully in heaven, the place of nothing but holiness and the glory of God.
God bless you,
Pastor Keith Pascoe
