Jesus
was noted as being “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens”
by the writer of Hebrews as he sought to show the superiority of
Jesus over all other “priests”.
In chapter seven and verse twenty-seven of Hebrews the writer
shared concerning Jesus offering “up sacrifice” on our
behalf which “he did once, when he offered up himself”
where we read:
Who needs not daily, as those high priests, to offer
up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for
this he did once, when he offered up himself.
The
verse begins, “Who needs not daily, as those high
priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins,...”. The
writer began with the words, “Who needs not”
which means “Jesus does not have necessity, must, calamity,
distress or straits” “daily”
or “each natural day within the interval between sunrise and sunset
as distinguished from the night”, “as those high
priests” which means “the
Levitical chief of priests”, “to offer up”
or “bear, bring, lead or carry up” “sacrifice”
which means “victims”, “first”
or “prior, before and previous” “for his own sins”
which refers to “the chief priest's private and personal errors,
missing the mark and wandering from and violating the law of God”.
Jesus, unlike the Levitical priesthood, did not have a need to make
sacrifices for His sin because He never sinned.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and then for the people's: for
this he did once, when he offered up himself”. The
writer continued with the words, “and then” or
“and afterwards” “for the people's”
which means “the people group, tribe, nation and all those who are
of the same stock and language” “for this he did once”
or “Jesus went before the Heavenly Father only one time and for
all” “when he offered up”
which means “when Jesus sustained, carried, brought, lead and put”
“himself” which refers to “Jesus Himself”. Jesus “offered”
Himself as the perfect sacrifice one time for all people.
When
we think through these words in Hebrews, we not only see the
superiority of Jesus over the Levitical priesthood, but we also see
the finality of the sacrificial offerings for sin. Jesus was the
“perfect great high priest” and the “perfect sacrifice”
for our sins, and because He interceded on our behalf, we now have
access to God through a relationship with Jesus. This is why it is so
important to have Jesus as our personal “Savior and Lord” because
now there is no other sacrifice worthy or necessary. No other
sacrifice is sufficient because of imperfection, and no other
sacrifice is needed because Jesus offered “Himself” one time as
the perfect and complete sacrifice for our sins. May all who read
these words understand and believe.
Next
time the writer shares how Jesus is “consecrated
for evermore”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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