The Altar: Part 5 A Place of Intercession

Who were the first intercessors? The OT priests were the first intercessors. In the Old Testament, the high priests descended from the line of Aaron, thus this was called the Aaronic priesthood.

Qualifications for the Priesthood

1. The high priest had to come from among men. In verse 1 (Hebrews 5) the author says, "For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins." This fact clarifies that it was men who were high priests, and not angels. Only men can act on behalf of men.

This verse also points to the fact that Christ had to become a man in order to be our great high priest in heaven.

Secondly, the priest represents men "in things pertaining to God." He is "appointed." A high priest functions as man's representative to God. This is the opposite of the role of a prophet. A prophet functioned as a representative of God to man. The prophet was God's "mediator" to man, while the high priest was man's "mediator' to God.

The third area of qualification is "to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins." This is the key responsibility of the high priest- -to offer sacrifices for sins to provide reconciliation between man and God. This responsibility is seen in the day of Atonement - the one day a year when the high priest entered into the presence of God into the mercy seat to offer sacrifice for the sins of Israel.

Leviticus 16:15-16 says,"then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat, And he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel, and because of their transgressions, in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities."

The purpose of the high priest offering a sacrifice to God on behalf of the people of Israel is to lay a foundation for forgiveness so that the people could be reconciled to God.

The fourth qualification is that he must be identified with the people. Verse 2 begins, "he can deal gently...." This phrase means to have a "balanced" approach. He is not apathetic nor is he overly excited or emotional when dealing with the people. The Old Testament high priest, because of his weakness, was obligated to offer sacrifice for the sins of not only the people, but also for himself (Lev 16:11).

The priest deals gently with the "...ignorant and misguided." The grammatical construction of this phrase indicates that this is the same group of people. The concept is that, because of a lack of knowledge and understanding, people go astray. When people lack understanding of God's revelation of Himself, they will go astray. Now, for sins of ignorance, forgiveness was provided through the sacrifices seen in the Old Testament. But for the sin of apostasy, there was no other sacrifice provided. This fact becomes important to our understanding of the warning passages found in Hebrews.

How is Jesus the most qualified High Priest and Intercessor?

He was appointed by God In Hebrews 8:6, the author illustrates the superiority of Christ' s representation; "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.“ As one can see, Christ is a high priest just like those found in the Old Testament, but His ministry is superior, in all aspects, to any other high priest.

In 1 Timothy 2:5 Paul says, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.“ This passage could be reworded "...the only mediator between God and men...," because Christ is the only high priest who is still functioning today. He is the only one through whom it is possible for man to be brought into a relationship with God.

Jesus identified with the people Christ suffered and endured the same things that we do, therefore He is able to understand and listen to us. (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15) The difference between Christ and the Old Testament high priests was that Christ did not have to offer a sacrifice for His own sin. He was without sin.

When one has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he has the great High Priest in heaven, interceding on behalf of him before God. The great High Priest, Jesus Christ Himself, understands our "weakness" because He was also tempted "in all things," yet He never sinned. He is able to deal with us "gently," and make atonement for us before God the Father.