Sin Eraser
Therefore, it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. He then could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17
In the Old Testament the high priest was the mediator between God and His people. It was his job to regularly bring animals for sacrifice according to the law to intercede with God for forgiveness of the people’s sins.
Jesus, as we know, came as our High Priest and by His death, He became the ultimate sacrifice for God’s people, interceding once and for all time, for the forgiveness of sins; past, present, and future. In the most recent session of our Bible study group, where we are studying the book of Romans, we just discussed Paul’s teaching to the church in Rome that faith is a confident belief that we are right in the sight of God through Jesus Christ. It is God’s grace that brings this justification through the redemption that came by Christ. “There is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:22-24)
A simple idea I apply to help my understanding of being justified is to think of it as meaning, “just as if I never have sinned.” God brings the faithful to believe in the redemptive power of the Cross that brings us from a state of injustice or sin to a state of grace.
In Hebrews we learn God’s plan was to enter the world and become a man. The boundless becomes bound to the flesh. Jesus had all the physical challenges we all experience. Just as we are impacted by our environmental conditions and simple aging of our bodies, Jesus would have similar experiences in His time. Given such reality, I wonder if He was ever tempted to return to His boundless nature. Or when being exposed to the elements of nature when they were at the worst, did Jesus ever think about just changing the weather? No one knows if these thoughts could have passed through His mind, but He certainly didn’t act on them if they did.
Our High Priest had to be perfected through suffering, even the death of the Cross. Although He was fully God and a sinless perfect Man, He endured what we all experience. He knew what it was like to face temptation and to live in the fallen world where destruction is around us and death awaits all of us. Yet He was without sin. He fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the Law in our place so that by faith, we are no longer under the curse of the Law but rather under the protection of His blood.
Lord Jesus, I can never thank You too much for the sacrifice You made for me. Your sacrifice was made so I could be adopted into the Father’s eternal family. Thank You for unmerited favor and loving faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.