#DailyDevotion Jesus Is The Promised High Priest Who Offered His Blood To Free Us
Hebrews 9:11–14
11But Christ came as High Priest of the good things that have come; He went through that greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by human hands (that is, not a part of this created world). 12 And He didn’t use the blood of goats and calves but through His own blood He entered only once into the Holy of Holies and paid a price that frees us forever. 13Now, sprinkling the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a calf on unclean people makes them outwardly holy and clean. 14How much more will the blood of Christ, Who by the everlasting Spirit offered Himself without a spot to God, wash our consciences clean from dead works to worship the living God?
When Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fish, the people recognized he was the promised prophet from Deuteronomy 18. The author of Hebrews here tells us Jesus is also the promised High Priest. The priest of the Mosaic covenant all died. They had no power in themselves to forgive sins. They also all died and are still dead. They offered up sacrifices of blood of goats, bulls and the ashes of a calf to make the Israelites outwardly clean and holy. These sacrifices did not have the power in them to forgive sins, though if people trusted the LORD and his promises and repented of their sins they did receive forgiveness from Him.
Jesus though is great and better than the priest of the old covenant. He is the High Priest of the good things that have come. Those good things are forgiveness of sins, justification, redemption, freedom from the fear of death and slavery to sin, sanctification and the creation of a new man by offering up himself as the sacrifice. Jesus having offered up himself on the cross went into the more perfect tabernacle not made by human hands, the heavenly Holy of Holies, of which the earthly Temple was a model of which Moses saw. This occurred when the curtain in the earthly Temple was torn in two from top to bottom showing us the entrance of the throne of God’s mercy is now open to everyone.
Jesus poured his blood upon the mercy seat of the Father in heaven making atonement for our sins. There is no more need for any sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the fulfillment of all those sacrifices under the old covenant and his blood is the price he paid to free us forever. The blood of the sacrifices made the people ritually clean and holy. The blood of Jesus now bestows upon us the forgiveness of sins. It makes us truly holy by washing our hearts and giving us new hearts that fear, love and trust in God above all things. As the blood of the sacrificed animals was sprinkled on the people, so too the blood of Christ is sprinkled on us when were baptized and gives us clean consciences. We also partake of Christ’s blood when we partake of the LORD’s Supper. When the pastor bestows absolution on us and to us, the blood of Christ washes away our sins. Even when another Christian forgives us the sins we’ve committed against them, the blood of Christ is there to free us from accusation.
Jesus institutes the new covenant in his blood. The old covenant is now null and void, the whole of it. His blood has washed our conscience clean dead works, the works of the Torah, to worship the living God in Spirit and in Truth. We can now approach the throne of God’s grace boldly with a clear conscience and make our lives living sacrifices to him in service to one another.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for making your Son Jesus Christ our High Priest who offered his life and blood to free us from our sins. Grant us faith always to believe this and sprinkle our consciences clean with his blood so we may rightly worship you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.