Jesus, the Faithful High Priest Hebrews 2:17

As the writer of Hebrews continues to show the superiority and position of Jesus Christ, God's Son, he shared how he did not take “on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham”, and in chapter two and verse seventeen of Hebrews we see Jesus as the “merciful and faithful faithful high priest” where we read:

Wherefore in all things it behoved 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.

The verse begins, “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren,” The writer began with the word, “Wherefore” which means “from which, whereby and for the cause, reason and account” “in all things” or “each, every, any, the whole and everyone” “it behoved him” which means “was due, in debt for, under obligation and owed for Jesus” “to be made like” or “likened and compared” “ unto his brethren” which refers to “fellow believers who are united to each other by the bond of affection”. It was as an “obligation or debt” that Jesus become human, so He could identify with us completely.

The verse goes on to say, “that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” The writer continued, “that he might be” which means “that Jesus might become, happen and appear as” “a merciful” or “compassionate” “and faithful” which means “trusty, relied upon and worthy of trust” “high priest” or “chief of priests” “in things pertaining to” which means “to the advantage of, near, by, towards and with regard to” “God” which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” , “to make reconciliation for” which means “to render one's self, appease, conciliate, become propitious, placated or appeased, gracious, merciful and expiated toward” “the sins” which literally means “to miss the mark” and are “the errors, mistakes, offenses and violations of the divine law in thought or act” “of the people” which refers to “people groups, tribes, nations and populations gathered together”. It was necessary for Jesus to become like a “human being” that He might become a “compassionate and reliable” “high priest” who would “undergo a bloody death as he offered himself as an expiatory sacrifice to God who has entered into the heavenly sanctuary where he continually intercedes on our behalf”.

When we meditate upon these words in Hebrews, we should be in awe that God Almighty felt such an “obligation” to His created “man”. He so desired to save us that He came as a “man” and felt it a “debt” to do so. Because of this, he identifies with us wholly, and demonstrated great “compassion and trustworthiness” by becoming not only the “high priest”, but also the “sacrificial lamb” to remove our sins. We should be in awe of this great and mighty God, and those who are wise will realize just how committed Jesus Christ is to saving their souls.

Next time we see the writer share how Jesus “suffered being tempted”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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