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"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water" ( Hebrews 10:19-22 ).

On the Day of Atonement the High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies. He was the only one allowed there and only once a year. I doubt he had much confidence before God. Every other day a large heavy veil blocked passage into this chamber, it separated them from the presence of God. Now that Jesus has come, we are able to enter into the Holy of Holies through the veil of His body and into the very presence of God. We can join Him in the throne room, sit on his lap and enjoy His company. Jesus makes this possible.

Because He is our faithful high priest and because of the oath sworn to Him by God we can have confidence to enter in to that place. We can draw near to God with a sincere heart with no consciousness of sin because we have been washed clean by the blood that saves us. All of this is because Jesus was perfected through suffering to faithfully and mercifully reside as our High Priest forever.

Tomorrow we look at Hebrews 2:11-13: Jesus Calls Us Brethren In the Presence of God

"The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever.' "Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant" ( Hebrews 7:18-22 ).

God has promised Jesus by an oath that He will not change His mind. Jesus is and will always be our High Priest. Jesus will always reside at the right hand of God making intercession for us because of the covenant that God made with Jesus. Therefore, we know that we are forgiven, cleansed from sin, accepted by God, holy, blameless, pure and set apart because of this oath. "Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them" ( Hebrews 7:24-25 ).

God in his brilliance sent Jesus to experience the fullness of humanity so that through this suffering He would be able to perfectly reside as our High Priest. And if that wasn't enough, God made a covenant with Jesus that He would always have this office to faithfully and mercifully intercede for us. This is truly a more perfect and better convent than the forefathers had under the law. "For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever" ( Hebrews 7:28 ).

Tomorrow we look at Part 4: Because of the Oath we Have Direct Access to God

"For it was an act worthy [of God] and fitting [to the divine nature] that He, for Whose sake and by Whom all things have their existence, in bringing many sons into glory, should make the Pioneer of their salvation perfect [should bring to maturity the human experience necessary to be perfectly equipped for His office as High Priest] through suffering" ( Hebrews 2:10 Amp )

Jesus was sinless so He could not sympathize with us on that basis as in the case of the Levitical priesthood. However, Jesus knew the fullness of the human experience through suffering so that he could accurately intercede for us. "For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" ( Hebrews 2:17-18 ). Because of His humanity and experience with suffering, he is able to relate to us in our time of need. The Amplified Bible tells us "because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried), He is able [immediately] to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted and tested and tried [and who therefore are being exposed to suffering]" ( Hebrews 2:18 Amp ).

This is amazing because when Satan brings accusation against us before God, we have Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father giving our defense. He can sympathize with us because He himself underwent the full human experience. He suffered so that He could perfectly intercede for us, drawing from that experience. This is an amazing look into the character and nature of God. Who subjected Jesus to the worst humanity has to offer so that He would faithfully reside as our high priest extending mercy to us in every circumstance.

Tomorrow we look at Part 3: Jesus’ Office as High Priest is Guaranteed by an Oath

"In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering" ( Hebrews 2:10 )

Do you wonder why Jesus suffered? For just a moment, take the fact that the Holy God became sin for us out of the equation. Why did he endure the suffering associated with humanity? Why did Jesus give up everything and enter into the world with nothing? Entering as a hostage under the dominion of Satan to redeem mankind from his control. This is an important question to ask because finding the answer will help you understand this amazing truth: Jesus suffered through the human experience to be perfectly equipped for His office as our High Priest.

The role of a High Priest

The High Priest was responsible for certain things that the other priests were not. He presided over the Sanhedrin and was in charge of the temple rituals to make sure they were carried out according to the law. But most importantly the High Priest would make the annual sacrifice on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This means he would act as an advocate for the people before God. He was allowed into the Holy of Holies to make intercession for the people, meeting with God. The priest only had access on this day otherwise he, like the rest, was confined to the outer chambers forbidden from entering into the presence of God.

On the Day of Atonement he would take blood into the Holy of Holies to pour out on the mercy seat as an offering to God. This is how he interceded for the people. The blood was used as a covering for sin, although it couldn't cleanse them from sin, thus, it would have to be offered again and again. It is important to know that the High Priest also had to offer this sacrifice for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. This whole system was a foreshadow to Jesus and His role as our High Priest serving in the Heavenly Tabernacle ( Hebrews 9:7-14 ).

Over the next four days we will look at Hebrews 2:10. We will look at the role of the High Priest. We will look at how suffering perfected Jesus for this office. We will look at the oath promised to Jesus by God when He was made our High Priest and we will see how we can approach God because of this oath.

Tomorrow we look at Part 2: Suffering Perfectly Equipped Jesus for His Office as High Priest