Wednesday, May 2
Though sin had brought a fearful separation between God and humanity, through Christ’s sacrificial death we as human beings are brought to God and can continue to have access to Him. See Ephesians 2:18, 1 Peter 3:18.
“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:19, 20). According to these verses, what has Jesus done for us?
Read Hebrews 9:24. What does this text say that Christ’s work includes?
Jesus is the forerunner, having entered as our Representative into the heavenly sanctuary, even into the very presence of God for us. That is, Jesus is standing before the Father, ministering the merits of His atonement, the “eternal redemption” that He “obtained” in our behalf.
Yes, when we accepted Jesus our sins were forgiven, and we stood before God pardoned and cleansed. But the fact remains that even after we have become Christians, we at times still sin, despite all the wonderful promises of victory. In such cases, Jesus intercedes as our High Priest in heaven. He represents the repenting sinner, not pleading our merits (for we have none) but pleading His own in our behalf before the Father. “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25, NKJV).
What born-again Christian does not sense his or her own need of Christ’s continuing mercy and grace? That is, despite the new life we have in Jesus, despite the wonderful changes in our existence, who doesn’t realize his or her own constant need of pardon and forgiveness? Why, then, is the knowledge of Christ as our High Priest so precious to us?
