The Altar: Part 5
A Place of Intercession
Who were the first intercessors?
• The OT priests were the first intercessors.
• In the Old Testament, the high priests
descended from the line of Aaron, thus
this was called the Aaronic priesthood.
Qualifications for the Priesthood
1. The high priest had to come from
among men.
• In verse 1 (Hebrews 5) the author says, "For
every high priest taken from among men is
appointed on behalf of men in things
pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts
and sacrifices for sins."
• This fact clarifies that it was men who were
high priests, and not angels. Only men can act
on behalf of men.
• This verse also points to the fact that Christ
had to become a man in order to be our great
high priest in heaven.
Secondly, the priest represents
men "in things pertaining to God."
• He is "appointed." A high priest functions as
man's representative to God.
• This is the opposite of the role of a prophet. A
prophet functioned as a representative of God
to man. The prophet was God's "mediator" to
man, while the high priest was man's
"mediator' to God.
The third area of qualification is "to
offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins."
• This is the key responsibility of the high priest-to offer sacrifices for sins to provide
reconciliation between man and God.
• This responsibility is seen in the day of
Atonement - the one day a year when the high
priest entered into the presence of God into
the mercy seat to offer sacrifice for the sins of
Israel.
• Leviticus 16:15-16 says,"then he shall
slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is
for the people, and bring its blood inside the
veil, and do with its blood as he did with the
blood of the bull and sprinkle it on the mercy
seat and in front of the mercy seat, And he
shall make atonement for the holy place,
because of the impurities of the sons of
Israel, and because of their transgressions, in
regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do
for the tent of meeting which abides with
them in the midst of their impurities."
• The purpose of the high priest offering a
sacrifice to God on behalf of the people of
Israel is to lay a foundation for forgiveness so
that the people could be reconciled to God.
The fourth qualification is that he must
be identified with the people.
• Verse 2 begins, "he can deal gently... ." This
phrase means to have a "balanced" approach.
He is not apathetic nor is he overly excited or
emotional when dealing with the people.
• The Old Testament high priest, because of his
weakness, was obligated to offer sacrifice for
the sins of not only the people, but also for
himself (Lev 16:11).
• The priest deals gently with the "...ignorant and
misguided." The grammatical construction of this
phrase indicates that this is the same group of
people. The concept is that, because of a lack of
knowledge and understanding, people go astray.
When people lack understanding of God's
revelation of Himself, they will go astray.
• Now, for sins of ignorance, forgiveness was
provided through the sacrifices seen in the Old
Testament. But for the sin of apostasy, there was
no other sacrifice provided. This fact becomes
important to our understanding of the warning
passages found in Hebrews.
How is Jesus the most qualified
High Priest and Intercessor?
He was appointed by God
• In Hebrews 8:6, the author illustrates the
superiority of Christ' s representation; "But now
He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as
much as He is also the mediator of a better
covenant, which has been enacted on better
promises.“
• As one can see, Christ is a high priest just like
those found in the Old Testament, but His
ministry is superior, in all aspects, to any other
high priest.
• In 1 Timothy 2:5 Paul says, "For there is one
God, and one mediator also between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus.“
• This passage could be reworded "...the only
mediator between God and men...," because
Christ is the only high priest who is still
functioning today. He is the only one through
whom it is possible for man to be brought into
a relationship with God.
Jesus identified with the people
• Christ suffered and endured the same things
that we do, therefore He is able to understand
and listen to us. (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15)
• The difference between Christ and the Old
Testament high priests was that Christ did not
have to offer a sacrifice for His own sin. He
was without sin.
• When one has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior, he has the great High Priest in
heaven, interceding on behalf of him before
God.
• The great High Priest, Jesus Christ Himself,
understands our "weakness" because He was
also tempted "in all things," yet He never
sinned. He is able to deal with us "gently," and
make atonement for us before God the Father.