The Great High Priest

What does the blood of a goat, water, scarlet wool and a branch of hyssop have to do with each other?

These items were used by the priest in ancient Israel in a religious ceremony that cleansed the people. This ceremony took place in the tabernacle divided by a veil. The veil divided the tabernacle in half with the front portion being used daily by the priest to serve God. The back portion, called the Holiest or Holy of Holies, was entered by the priest only once a year on the Day of Atonement when he ritually cleansed the people.

All these rituals and practices focused the people on the importance of being cleansed by the priest. The living goat provided a vicarious sacrifice, the hyssop reminded the people of when the destroying angel passed over their homes because they had followed Moses’ counsel and painted the blood of their sacrificial animal on the doorposts. You can read about the wool here.

Then in 34 AD Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, lived on Earth and passed through the veil of death into Heaven. He didn’t just die like a mere mortal. He was a divine being who lived a sinless life and offered his own blood as a symbol of his willingness to bear the just consequences of all the sins and infirmities of the people. In this way he paid the price justice demands and he offers mercy to us on his own terms. (He is a mediator) He shows us how to approach God and makes it possible for us to actually cross the veil and enter the Holiest places of Heaven.

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The Unique Gift of Jesus Christ

Think about the last time you gave someone a car. If you have never given a gift like this, imagine giving someone you love a car. Did that person have words to express how thankful they were? Did they even know what to say? It’s very difficult to express sincerely an emotion that is deep and powerful.

When I ponder the Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to Earth so that he could take upon himself the pains, the sicknesses, the death, the infirmities and the sins of his people — I don’t have words to express what that means to me. I have felt exquisite pain so intense that I thought I would rather die. He felt that pain multiplied by millions and he chose not to die. He only “gave up the ghost” or in other words died, when he had finished his work.

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