Jesus Christ: Our High Priest and the Heavenly Sanctuary

Leviticus 16

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;

2 And the LORD said to Moses, Speak to Aaron your brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is on the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.

3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches on his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen turban shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.

7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

8 And Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.

10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:

12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:

13 And he shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the testimony, that he die not:

14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remains among them in the middle of their uncleanness.

17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goes in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

18 And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar round about.

19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

20 And when he has made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

22 And the goat shall bear on him all their iniquities to a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:

24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.

25 And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn on the altar.

26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.

27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.

28 And he that burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

29 And this shall be a statute for ever to you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourns among you:

30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

31 It shall be a sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:

33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.

34 And this shall be an everlasting statute to you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Acts 3:19

19 Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Hebrews 8:4-5

4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

5 Who serve to the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, says he, that you make all things according to the pattern showed to you in the mount.

Hebrews 9:6-7

6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.

7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

2 John 1:3

3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

It is a joy to open the Word of God with you to explore the beautiful work of our Savior! 📖 The true Biblical meaning of this principle is that Jesus Christ is our Divine Creator and Redeemer who, after dying as our sacrifice, now serves as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary to perform a final work of judgment and the blotting out of sins before His return as King.

Let’s look into the Holy Scriptures to see how this wonderful plan of salvation is revealed through His ministry.

1. The Identity of our Savior

The foundation of our faith rests upon the person of Jesus Christ. He is the Son of the Father in truth and love, and through Him, all things were brought into existence.

• ** 2 John 1:3** confirms His divine relationship: "Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love."

• ** Hebrews 1:2-3** teaches that God has "spoken unto us by his Son... by whom also he made the worlds" and that He upholds "all things by the word of his power."

2. His Work on Earth as our Example and Sacrifice

To redeem us, the Son of God took upon Himself our nature. He lived a perfect life to show us the way and then died to pay the penalty for our transgressions.

• ** Hebrews 2:16-17** explains that "he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham," becoming a "faithful high priest" to make reconciliation for our sins.

• ** 1 Peter 2:24** declares that He "his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree," providing the perfect sacrifice.

3. The Heavenly Sanctuary and the Two-Apartment Ministry

After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven to begin His work as our Mediator. Just as the earthly tabernacle had two rooms, the heavenly sanctuary also involves a two-phase ministry.

• ** Hebrews 8:4-5** tells us that earthly priests serve as an "example and shadow of heavenly things," following the "pattern" shown to Moses.

• ** Hebrews 9:6-7** describes this pattern: the priests went "always into the first tabernacle" (the Holy Place) for daily service, but into the "second" (the Most Holy Place) went the high priest "alone once every year, not without blood."

• ** Hebrews 8:1-2** identifies Jesus as the "minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man."

4. The Closing Work of Atonement: Blotting Out Sins

The most solemn part of Christ's work is the final atonement, which is the antitype of the ancient Day of Atonement. This is the time of the "investigative judgment" where the records of the penitent are examined and their sins are finally removed.

• ** Acts 3:19** gives us this urgent call: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord."

• ** Leviticus 16:30** reveals the purpose of this specific day: "For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD."

• ** Leviticus 16:16** shows that this work cleanses the sanctuary itself from the "uncleanness of the children of Israel" and their "transgressions in all their sins."

5. The Removal of Sin and the Scapegoat

Once the work of intercession is finished and the sins of the righteous are blotted out, the guilt is placed upon the originator of sin, typified by the scapegoat.

• ** Leviticus 16:21-22** describes how the high priest would "lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel... putting them upon the head of the goat," which then bore them "unto a land not inhabited."

• ** Hebrews 9:28** promises that when this work is complete, Christ shall "appear the second time without sin unto salvation" to those who look for Him.

In summary, Jesus is currently officiating in the heavenly sanctuary for you! 🏛️ He offers the merits of His blood to all who come to Him in repentance Acts 5:31. We are living in the "antitypical day of atonement," a time to seek God with all our hearts as our High Priest completes His final work before taking His throne as King Daniel 7:13-14. 🙏✨