To offer sacrifices for his own sins

“This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 5:3)

 

There may be a misunderstanding about the pastor who presides the service and preaches at church. Pastors themselves may misunderstand oneself, and others may misunderstand pastors. Such that misunderstanding stems from thinking pastors as if the beings who have replaced God. It is good to recognize the authority of pastors in the sense of respect, but excessive attitude of respect makes them go to wrong authoritarianism. The only High Priest of people is Jesus the Son of God. The pastor is only a member of the church of Christ and acts as the servant of Christ’s one body. And every error of churches begins with wrong understanding of what worship and duties are.

 

Judaism in the Old Testament had positions of the priest and the high priest. They had charge of the sacrificial services for Israelite the people. Among the priests were the wicked, unbelieving, like Eli’s sons the priests in young Samuel’s time. They did not work in the right position for the sacrifice to Jehovah, did not obey the rules, and committed habitually the sin of defiling the temple. Even some high priests were evil men like that. For instance, the high priests and elders in Jesus’ time were the leaders of the forces who tried to capture and execute Jesus into crucifixion. How sad and deplorable is that?

The high priests were chosen from among the people, and they had a work to make offerings and give atonement sacrifice to God. It is true that their authority, to lead the people in front of God, was great. But what they had to know clearly was that they should give the sacrifice of atonement to God not only for others but also for themselves. There is a verse “He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.” That means, “he can understand others’ situation, for he is also person.” That is, it tells the existential position of the high priest as man the created. Jesus could become the High Priest for everyone because He was born into the world as the son of man. However He had no original sin, but only was born as a baby Jesus the son of man and went through all the hardships of life. Because He understood through direct experiences what people’s hardships were, He were able to play wholly the role of the High Priest. The suffering of Jesus and the death on the cross was as a sacrificial offering of atonement replaced everyone. Jesus’ such the atonement for the people was fulfilled according to the eternal will of God.

The sacrifice of sin offering occupies the heart of all other sacrificial rites. This is because there can be no forgiveness and reconciliation without atonement. The salvation of Christ is through the death of the cross and the resurrection. Salvation has each meaning about death and resurrection, and it has also meanings from a combination of the two. Those who believe in and enjoy salvation in Christ are Christians, so that Christians’ worship must always be carried out on the basis of atonement and resurrection. Worship in a broad sense is through all life, and the Lord’s Day worship is the intensive worship held on Sunday, the holy day of resurrection. In any of the two worships, atonement and resurrection must be surely included in itself.

Jesus is called the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. The Psalm writer referred to Melchizedek the eternal priest as the king of David’s descendant, as written in Psalm 110:4. Though Jesus was born from the body of David, He was not a general priest who was ordained among men, but a holy and complete the High Priest. And He prayed the supplication and wish of earnest tears to God the Father. We can have an eternal life in Jesus because He asked God for repentance and salvation to apologize everyone’s sin. Jesus was a complete High Priest who had no original sin, so He did not need a sacrifice for Himself separately. On the other hand, the high priests in Old Testament had to offer atonement not only for the people but also for themselves.

 

The time of prophetical Old Testament has already passed. And in the time of New Testament, the old system was complete within Jesus Christ. There thus cannot be any high priests other than Christ in the churches of this era. Not only is the high priest of Old Testament incomplete, but the pastors of New Testament are incomplete just like other believers. Remember clearly, as a member built as a servant of the gospel for Christ, it is the true attitude of worship and positions to offer a sin offering for himself in the name of Jesus.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Oct 11th 2020)