p. 3 | Christ Our High Priest by Charles Lindsay Taylor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Jul 1, 1908

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 34, No. 27.

Christ Our High Priest

By Charles Lindsay Taylor

WHEN our Lord Jesus Christ as the prophet of Jehovah, as God's human messenger, as man among men, had accomplished His earthly mission, He ascended on high, there to continue, in another capacity, the great work of redemption.

Here on earth, He lived and worked, suffered and died. As prophet, He bore His message; as a man, He overcame in our behalf; as a son, He ascended the cross; and, by the offering of Himself as a vicarious sacrifice, He made it possible for all men to come close to the throne of the Infinite and there find pardon, peace, and power. At the cross He destroyed Satan's last hope, and having provided an offering by which all those who wished life might obtain forgiveness, He departed to the Father there to act as man's Priest-Mediator.

The Tabernacle in the Wilderness, the Services and Priesthood of Which Were Typical of the Sacrifice and Priesthood of Our Lord Jesus Christ for Sin.

His work as prophet laid the foundation and opened the way for His work as priest; and together His work as prophet and priest will open the door to His becoming, by and by, the King of nations. As prophet, priest, and king, He will bring to the fulness of perfect completion the glorious plan of salvation.

Turning to the good Book, we find these truths amply set forth. Speaking of our Lord's prophetic-human experience, the letter to the Hebrews says, "Tho He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; and being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him." And the next step in His great work of "fulfilling all things" (Eph. 4:10, marg.) is stated to be, "called of God an High Priest after the order of Melchizedek." Heb. 5:8-10.

It was to be Priest, to be our great Advocate, that Jesus ascended to heaven and took His place at the Father's right hand. "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." Heb. 4:14. He is now "the Apostle and High Priest of our profession." Heb. 3:1. His appointment to this office came from the great God Himself, being a part of that plan laid before the foundation of the world. The Scriptures say, "The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." Heb. 7:21.

Over and over again Inspiration repeats the thought that Jesus is Priest after the order of Melchizedek. And as the word is given for our encouragement, there must be in this assurance some special blessing for us. What is it?

In the days of Israel, God instructed His people to erect a sanctuary that He might "dwell among them." Ex. 25:8. He desired to dwell among His people with His glory shielded by the sanctuary building, that thus He might remove from their lives their sins and so make it possible for Him to dwell in them.

The matter of removing their sin and of bringing

into their experience His "everlasting righteousness" was carried forward by Jehovah thru the work of the priests. Man, in his sinfulness and impurity, could not approach into the presence of God except thru the person and work of one who had been divinely appointed and prepared. The priest alone could enter the dwelling-place of the Most High, and by the shed blood of the sinner's offering make reconciliation. See Lev. 4:27-35.

The earthly sanctuary was but a type. Our God dwells in the heavens. As sinners, as those who have been appointed to death, we can not see God, can not enter into His presence, and so we greatly need a representative at the divine tribunal. But this we are assured we have. "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous." 1 John 2:1. "We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle." Heb. 8:1, 2. There, in the presence of the great God, where ten thousands of holy angels minister, where sins are recorded and forgiven, our Christ-Priest appears "for us." Heb. 9:24. In Him the faces and forms of lost men are brought before the Ancient of Days, and His precious blood becomes for them an everlasting, sin-canceling power.

But, mark! He is a High Priest "after the order of Melchizedek." Of Melchizedek it is written that "by interpretation" he was "King of Righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is King of Peace;" and that he "abideth a priest continually." Heb. 7:2, 3. "Consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils." Verse 4. And what a wonderful view this gives us of our Priest. Certainly He is our King of Righteousness, our "Prince of Peace." He "continueth ever" in "an unchangeable priesthood." Heb. 7:24. And because of this we may know that "He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." Verse 25.

In the olden time the fact that priests were only human and had their work cut short by death meant much to God's people. The "cities of refuge" appointed to shelter and protect needy ones were but temporary at the best. Num. 35:25-28. Our "Refuge" is eternal, and saves to the uttermost, because our Advocate "continueth ever."

In the courts of glory our Friend to-day pleads for us. His pleadings are all-sufficient, provided that men will believe. He is still the Son of Man, and with outstretched arms He calls upon the sons of men to identify their interests with His, that when the day of His kingship shall come, He may reign over them eternally.

It is beautiful to understand even the theory of truth concerning our Saviour's priesthood; but, brother, sister, it is of the greatest importance that you and I, in our practical, every-day experience, know Him as our great High Priest, our Advocate and Friend. "For we have not an high priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb. 4:15, 16.