Able To Save Completely

The chief task of a priest is to bring a sinful people and a holy God together by offering a sacrifice for the people’s sin. Again, these verses present us with a contrast between the perfect Jesus Christ, who can fully meet the spiritual needs of human beings, and the “weak” (28) Levitical priests of the Old Testament, who could offer only a sticking-plaster solution.

In these verses we see that Jesus as a person is a better high priest than any of them. He is holy, entirely consecrated to God, blameless and pure. While he fully shares our humanity (Heb. 2), he is separate from us in our experience of sinning. Therefore, he is qualified not only to be our perfect high priest but also to be the perfect spotless sacrifice for our sin. He has no need to offer sacrifice for his own sin before he can offer sacrifices for the sin of others.

Furthermore, where the Levitical priests were only allowed into the earthly sanctuary once a year, Jesus has been “exalted above the heavens” (26) and remains there, forever in the presence of God, in the heavenly sanctuary. Because he is perfect, his ministry of mediation is perfect. Where the ministry of Levitical priests was earthly, temporary and a mere shadowy foretaste of better things to come, the ministry of Jesus Christ is heavenly and permanent and can never be improved upon. The mediation he offers exactly “meets our need” (26) for our sin to be completely forgiven and blotted out forever. How fully do you believe this? Or do you allow past forgiven sins to haunt you? Jesus is “able to save completely” (25). All we have to do is “come.” Verse 25 would make a good memory verse to take with you through the day.

Meditate on the offering Jesus made for your sin (27). Pray that some may “come to God through him” (25).