Key thought: Jesus Christ is our High Priest who is our mediator with God, and through his sacrifice He has made us priests unto our God

The high priest in the Old Testament was the chief spiritual leader of Israel, responsible for mediating between God and the people through sacrifices and intercession, particularly on the 

Priests came from Aaron’s line, and from the priestly line, one priest was chosen as the high priest at a time. The high priests lived much like the regular priests, only they had a few special responsibilities that set them apart. They were also held to a higher standard of holiness than the rest of the priests. 

The high priests were forbidden from coming into contact with any dead body including those of close relatives, they were not to shave their heads or cut their beards, they could only marry Israelite virgins, and they could not perform their priestly duties if they had any physical deformities (Leviticus 21). It is not that being dead or having deformities was a sin, but high priests had higher standards to follow since they were the mediators for the people to God.

The people would often go to the High Priest when they were seeking the will of God (Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21; 1 Samuel 23:9-12). The High Priests wore special garments made of gold, purple, blue, and scarlet. These garments consisted of a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat, a turban, and a sash (Exodus 28:4-5). One particular part of their special garments was the Urim and the Thummim (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8).

The High Priest wore a breastpiece of judgment adorned with twelve precious stones, each inscribed with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, symbolizing his role in bearing the people before God in intercession and judgment (Exodus 28:17-21, 28:29-30). The high priest's main duty was to make sacrifices for the peoples' sins once a year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). Because God is wholly good and pure, He cannot dwell with impurity, so the place where God's presence dwelt on the mercy seat was separated from the rest of the temple by a large, heavy drape. On the Day of Atonement the high priest would ceremonially cleanse himself before entering the Holy of Holies. He would take the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkle it on the mercy seat to make atonement for the sins of the congregation.

• Aaron: The first high priest, appointed by God. 
• Eleazar, Phinehas, and others: Aaron's descendants also s erved as high priests. 
• Zadok: A high priest during the reign of King Solomon, who was later recognized as the founder of a lineage of high priests. 
• Joshua the High Priest: He served as high priest after the Babylonian exile. 

1. He makes intercession for us 
   • We can draw near God because Jesus as our High Priests, He intercedes on our behalf 
   • Hebrews 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 
   • He can deliver, He can save, and we can trust Him
   • So when we are in trouble, never move away from His presence
   • Draw near Him!
2. We have a sympathetic High Priest
   • Jesus understands our pain, he is sympathetic to our needs
   • He gives strength to overcome whatever temptation we are facing. 
   • He lives amongst humanity and felt the pain we have yet he was sinless
   • Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 
   • Sometimes we may be overwhelmed by our challenges and fell so lonely, we can call to him.
   • People may not understand us and may even judge us but Jesus understands
   • He sees our tears, our help is a prayer away!
   • Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 
   • He suffered sharing our sorrows and pain, even without sin, in his innocence we esteemed him not.
   • Through His sacrifice he bore our griefs
3. He gives us confidence to come before God
   • Jesus built a bridge that we can use to access the throne of God.
   • Our confidence is not from our works but through Jesus.
   • We can come body to receive mercy and find grace in times of need because of our High Priest Jesus 
   • Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
   • There is grace for our challenges, there is nothing too difficult for God
   • Even in our imperfections, God gives us attention on account of Jesus
   • There will be times we are feeling dirty, sometimes feeling unworthy but as a child of God have confidence to come on account of Jesus
4. He offered the perfect sacrifice
   • IN the Old Testament, the system of sacrifice was cumbersome, every year the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies representing all the people of Israel.
   • The high priest would offer a sacrifice for himself and then for the people.
   • This was all foreshadowing the work that Jesus would do, actually during this time the sins would only be covered.
   • It is through the sacrifice on Calvary that actual cleansing our sins takes place 
   • Hebrews 7:27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 
   • Hebrews 7:28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. 
   • Today, we no longer need blood sacrifices because the sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient
   • Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice, He who had no sin became sin so that we could be the righteousness of God 
   • The sacrifice of Jesus is a single sacrifice sufficient for all humankind and—because it is forever valid and effective—it cannot be replaced by any other.
5. Through Him, we have been made priests unto our God
   • The work of Jesus Christ enables the priesthood of all believers.
   • As Jesus was dying on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn into two,
   • This veil was a separation between the Holy place and the Holy of Holies, only the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies
   • The High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement.
   • ON this day he wold offer sacrifices, this included the burning of incense and sprinkling of blood of the sacrificed animals on the Ark of the Covenant
   • 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 
   • Revelation 1:5… To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.