Merciful and Faithful High Priest

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 2:17

In order to have propitiation (i.e. in order for a sacrifice to do what it was intended to do) all the pieces had to be in place. There needed to be an acceptable altar, a qualified priest, and an animal specifically created for sacrifice. But it was more than that! The legal precedent had to be established whereby there was a process for atoning for sin.

Therefore, the Aaronic priesthood and system for sacrifices was not just cute symbolism or literary foreshadowing of Christ on the cross, they were God's way of showing how complicated it is to actually remove sin from a sinner.

The office of the High Priest was essential, both for atonement of sins and for intercession for the sinner. Unfortunately some high priests weren't worthy of the job. Annas and Caiaphas were evil men that not only failed to recognize the promised Messiah, they conspired to have him crucified. It is hard to imagine that their offering for the people on the Day of Atonement would be accepted, because they were so far out of God's will.

The Lord Jesus on the other hand, is the Merciful and Faithful High Priest. He is highly qualified for the job and was able to do what all His predecessors were unable to do: atone for sin once and for all. He showed mercy by freeing His people from the bondage of sin and now faithfully intercedes on behalf of the blood bought people He redeemed. The altar was the cross; the propitiation was the blood of Christ and the Minister of the Sanctuary was our Merciful and Faithful High Priest.

Him who is from the Beginning

I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father.

1 John 2:13

One of the few perks about being old is the right to say “been there, done that.” I went to school in the 1950's before ballpoint pens were invented and we still used fountain pens. I ate at McDonald's restaurants before they served 50 million and I remember the introduction of the Ford Mustang back in 1964. When young people today think these things have been around forever, I feel like him who is around from the beginning.

The Apostle John addressed the church fathers as the oldest and wisest men in the assembly. They had been around for a long time and could certainly teach the young people a thing or two. But John needed to remind them of their true sense of maturity; they knew Him who is from the Beginning.

The Lord Jesus was around before the wheel and the campfire was invented. He existed before the earth was formed and before the very first star got fired up. Before time began, there were no reference points to the universe, but things still happened back there. The angels, principalities, and powers were created and God sat on His throne. Christ was around back then too, but it is just called “Eternity past.”

When God finally got around to making matter and energy, time was invented simultaneously. The moment that happened is called “the Beginning.” Christ got the clock ticking. He was Him who is from the Beginning.

*see also 1 John 2:14; 1:1

Root of David

But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."

Revelation 5:5

A large variety of vegetation can be transplanted with just a small piece of root. The new plant will have all the characteristics of its parent although the size and shape might differ greatly.

The Lord Jesus was the Root of David and the parallels between the two are remarkable.

Characteristic	David		Christ
Birthplace:	Bethlehem		Bethlehem
Gossip Material...	...for having both a prostitute and a foreigner in family tree		...for being thought to be conceived out of wedlock
Early Occupation:	Shepherd of sheep		Shepherd of Israel (Matthew 15:24)
Anointed...	...by the prophet Samuel to be King of Israel		...by the Holy Spirit to be Christ of God
Betrayal...	...by his own son, Absalom		...by his disciple and close friend, Judas Iscariot
Rejected King:	Lived through two civil wars (with Isbosheth and Absalom)		The mob in Pilates court shouted for their King to be crucified (Matthew 27:22)
Relationship to God:	A man after the Lord's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14)		Is the well pleasing, beloved Son of God (Matthew 17:5)

Come O Root of David and reign on the throne of the son of Jesse.

*see also Revelation 22:16

Drink Offering

So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.

Genesis 35:14*

After Jacob had a vision of a ladder to heaven, he set up a rock as a pillar and then poured oil on it as an act of worship (Genesis 28:18). More than 20 years later, Jacob returned to the same spot and again poured out oil. This was long before Moses gave instructions for drink offerings, but in every case, three aspects of sacrifice are always present.

1. Poured out - When a liquid is poured out on the ground it never can be retrieved again for anything useful. The world would look on this as a waste, but the drink offering was a free-will offering given in gratitude to God. The Apostle Paul poured out his life in service for the gospel of Christ and considered it a sacrifice that he was joyfully willing to give (Philippians 2:17).

2. Precious - Oil and wine are not cheap. A quart and a half of wine was poured out every morning and every evening in the daily sacrifices and then much more was given on top of that for feast days and public worship. David once poured out water as a drink offering, because his three mighty men risked their lives to break into a Philistine garrison to get him a jug of water. David said that it represented the life's blood of his men and it was too precious to drink. Instead he poured it out in worship to God. 

3. Praise - as a part of the grain offering, the drink offering was included in the sweet smelling sacrifices that the LORD delighted in. It had nothing to do with sin and transgression and everything to do with worship and appreciation. The liquid of this sacrifice was usually wine, which was sipped and then the rest poured out to God, as if both the creature and the Creator were making a toast together. 

The Lord Jesus Christ freely gave His life as a Drink Offering to the Father. On the cross of Calvary the Savior poured out His precious blood to save the human race of their sins, for the praise of the glory of God. 

*used 66 times in various ways in scripture. 

Head over All Things to the Church

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church. 

Ephesians 1:22

The Apostle Paul just finished a seven verse, 166 word prayer for the Ephesian church that was all contained in just one sentence. The old missionary focused on the beauties of Christ as he asked God to reveal a better knowledge of the Savior to the believers. It was the sentence prayer that seemed to never end and by the time he finally got to he period, Paul hadn't gotten to the bottom line. He added it in this verse; they needed to know that Jesus was the Head over All Things to the Church. 

Christ certainly isn't over all things to the world, because He isn't their Lord. Satan is the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), but people also follow a panthion of lesser gods that include prosperity, power, passion, and pride. It's no wonder that people today seem confused and pulled in different directions. 

It's not supposed to be that way for the body of Christ. The Lord is Head over All Things to the Church and supplies and equips every believer for every situation (Ephesians 1:23). Jesus is the facilitator  of every committee, Head-pastor over the head-pastor, as well as the CEO over every program, project, and person in the church. Well, it doesn't always happen that way, but that is how it's supposed to be. 

True, sometimes He is not acknowledged as Head over All Things to the Church. Some local churches operate by tradition. They've always done things a certain way so long, there's no need for Jesus to give them direction now. In some places, the pastor does everything. Why should the congregation have to do anything?; "after all, that's what he is paid for".  Sometimes even the preacher can go on for years recycling old sermons, so no inspiration or divine guidance is ever needed. 

That's probably why Paul had to remind the Ephesians that Jesus is the Head over All Things to the Church. He's in charge; He bought it; He directs it. It would probably be a good idea for those who are a part of it to ask the Guy-in-charge what He wants them to do.

Head of Every Man

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

1 Corinthians 11:3

Spoiler alert!! Today's meditation is clearly politically incorrect. You may want to skip over it, if you are easily offended or if you don't want your preconceived ideas to be challenged.

Most other commentaries on the titles of Christ put a period where the first comma is and then leave off the whole rest of the verse. That way they can avoid controversy and explain the phrase out of context and not ruffle any feathers. They simply say that Jesus is everybody's boss whether male or female and we all ought to obey Him. I guess I can't argue with the conclusion, but that's not what it says in this verse or chapter.

The section that the title comes from is dealing with male and female roles in the Christian home. The man and woman in the verse are husband and wife. The husband is tapped to be the spiritual head in the family and submits to Christ, just as Jesus submitted to the father when he said "...not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). When it says, "the head of every man is Christ" it means that the father of the family is responsible for his household following the Lord and is directly accountable to Him. The part that says, "the head of the woman is man" means that the wife is to support her husband in building the Christian home by submitting to him. 

Obviously, this teaching rubs people the wrong way, even to the point of having some churches teach that 1 Corinthians chapter 11 was the culture of the day and therefore is not relevant to our modern society. That's interesting, because they still accept 1 Corinthians 11:1 where Paul says, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ."

If somebody is your boss, you do what he says; you don't just blow him off by saying, "We don't do that anymore." The bottom line is: the Head of Every Man is Christ. 

Minister of the Sanctuary

Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

Hebrews 8:1-2

Many ministers are overpaid and under-worked!...or at least that's what some people think. They see the preacher give two or three half hour sermons each week and a few times a year speak at a wedding or a funeral. They think that is all they do and they wish that they had it so easy. 

Although there are lazy people in any profession, preaching is just the tip of the iceberg for most Christian workers. Most of what a true servant of God does  never comes into the public view. Hours are often spent discipling others, making phone calls, and visitation. More time yet is spent in prayer, meditation, and Bible study. What ministers do to be holy is the key to what they do, even if it isn't seen or appreciated by others. 

Christ Jesus, in His capacity as High Priest, atoned for the sins of every believer on the cross. He continues to intercede on their behalf and separate each believer for service for God. After this world is dissolved the Lord will become Minister of the sanctuary in the New Jerusalem. What exactly He'll be doing isn't revealed but Jesus isn't lazy and there will be much to do. Worship will be a constant activity and the True Tabernacle will be up and running. Whatever that is done there was foreshadowed in the books of Exodus and Leviticus regarding Moses' Tabernacle of meeting. A lot of the imagery of the Old Testament will finally make sense then and up there.

In heaven we'll be able to see the Throne of Grace, streets of polished gold, and real-live cherubim. We'll also see our glorified Lord and Savior there serving as the Minister of the Sanctuary.