Our Faithful Priest

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Feb 4, 1913

Our Faithful Priest

ONE of the greatest comforts and aids to the Christian who is warring against foes without, and crushing out tendencies within, is to know that he has a High Priest who, tho’ “higher than the heavens,” can be touched with the feeling of his infirmities; who was in all points tempted as His followers are tempted, yet He was without sin. If Jesus had sinned, while we might love His fellowship and teaching, we would have no confidence in Him as a Saviour; for if He had failed in His warfare, He would in ours. If He had not been tempted even as we, we would not have confidence in His help, for we would reason that He had never met our temptations in our frailty, that He had never resisted the inherited passions and weaknesses of generations; therefore He could not know how to help us. Lack of power in the one case, and lack of knowledge and wisdom in the other, would be the constant objection and cavil brought by the skeptical against such a Saviour.

But neither of these objections can be brought against Christ Jesus. He came in the “likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3); was “made of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Rom. 1:3); was “made of a woman, made under the law” (Gal. 4:4); He “took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham” (Heb. 2:16); in fact, “in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.” Therefore, according to the Word of truth, Jesus possessed the sinful flesh with all of its sinful and inherited tendencies to evil, from Judah down. Therefore He can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, as He was tempted even as we. Heb. 4:15.

And Christ has power to help. He suffered being tempted, but it was always the suffering of travail; it brought forth fruit of righteousness. Men often suffer through temptation, the suffering of sin. Christ’s suffering was the travail of righteousness. With sinful tendencies in His flesh, He never sinned, but “condemned sin, [conquered and cast out sin] in the flesh,” a triumphant Victor, first over sinful flesh, second over the results of sin, death. Rom. 8:3, 4. This is our Redeemer. He knows how to help; He is “mighty to save.”