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THE HIGH
PRIEST!
John 17: 1-10
1 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said,
"Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify
You, 2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom
You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 "This is eternal life,
that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You
have sent. 4 "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the
work which You have given Me to do. 5 "Now, Father, glorify Me
together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the
world was. 6 "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me
out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they
have kept Your word. 7 "Now they have come to know that everything You
have given Me is from You; 8 for the words which You gave Me I have
given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came
forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. 9 "I ask on their
behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You
have given Me; for they are Yours; 10 and all things that are Mine are
Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.
This is a part of what is called Jesus High
priestly prayer. He is the true high priest, and the high priest in
Israel was only a role model.
The high priest was the one who brought forward the sacrifice, the
blood of the atonement before God. “Look Lord, the work you have
commanded is now completed.”
The Lord was accurately when it came to this, - yes accurate!?
– Our words become weak here. We cannot grasp God in His Holiness. But
He Himself choosed the one who was going to carry this into the holy
place.
It was a chosen one. And He gave accurately instructions of
how it all should take place. If anybody than the chosen one
dared coming inn, he would face death. And if the high priest walked inn
without following the instructions, he would also face death.
We read about Aaron’s sons in Leviticus 10, who brought strange fire
before the Lord and they all died.
This is telling us that the high priest possessed what it took to be
able to stand in the sight of the Lord. By this he was a role model.
He was the chosen one who had the means of payment, not just for himself,
but for the whole people.
But you know, the Jew is as lawful from nature of as we are, so most
of them only saw a religious ritual performed. And they thought that God
was reconciled by this deed. But those who by the Holy Ghost,
through the high priest’s role model, got Jesus revealed in their hearts,
they were saved by what they saw. They saw Him, the Lamb, who was going
to destroy the head of the snake, by the atonement of the entire world’s
sin. Foe everybody else it was just another reminder of sins. There is
no salvation in admission of sin, but only in the carrier of sins.
The high priest was going to stand in the sight of God for the people.
It was a covenant between God and the high priest. He was the people’s
representative. He was the one who appeared on behalf of the people. And
then we start to see wonderful pictures of Jesus. “He who walked instead
of us!” Our representative who walked before us on behalf of us, and by
a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his
body. (Hebr.10:20).
You may say that when Jesus walked into the holy of holies the doors
remained open after Him. So that you can enter right in? Oh no, so that
you can walk in in His name! That is a safer foundation, where
you will always know God’s delight. Without your mind and heart
aimed towards this name, you will always start looking after other
reasons. Reasons that cannot last! But this name is a salvation name.
But do not come as Aaron’s sons, with strange fire.
Maybe your faith is not stronger, so that you will end up walking in
trembling, but as you walk inn through this name, you will be saved.
“Father, the hour has come.” (v.1). Jesus speaks of a certain
hour. An hour He and His Father knew of in advance. Jesus alludes to
an agreement between them. When you were little you
experienced appointed days. A certain day that you would get
something or something joyful was going to happen. This day was arranged.
And then finally one morning you open up your eyes and the day has come.
“Father, the hour has come.”It was a covenant between God and the
high priest. He had to bring the blood of the atonement for the entire
people’s sins. But where in the world would God find blood that would
take away the sin of the people? Everything was spotty! The blood from
ram’s and calves was therefore just a role model. Then we see the
covenant between the Father and the Son. He who was from eternity on
(v.5), He received a body. “Therefore He says when He steps into the
world: Sacrifice and gifts you did not want, but you created a body
for Me.” God wanted a perfect man, without sin, with a willing heart
lived and acted in complete accordance with His will. I.e. fulfilled the
law. It had to be one with a clean heart. This was Jesus’ work,
to fulfill the law in our place. He was the only One! So, without Jesus
lies an unfulfilled law leaning on your shoulders and God wants you to
live up to it, and fulfill it in detail, if you want to pass before Him
by it. Because it is not cancelled, like some people think, but
fulfilled, by the only, alone, Jesus Christ! Therefore there is
no salvation outside of Him. But in Him, there is in return a whole and
full salvation. The law is fulfilled!
“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work
which You have given Me to do.“(v.4). Listen you who are having a hard
time satisfying God! The work which You have given Me to do.”
Jesus – Not you!
After accomplishing this work, He is standing in the sight of God as
One who has the right to live, from what He is in Himself, He
give then this right to us who has no right. He gives us His
right to live, and has to Himself face the reward of a sinner, which is
death.
Do you see Jesus? Then Jesus says something – May God open our eyes
so we can see! “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John14:9).
It is only as if a person has to be reluctant to take the word into
his mouth, but it is still the truth – God died for me. He died
my death, for my sins, and His righteousness he has
given me in Jesus. Think about it, God’s own righteousness!
He wanted that we in faith and trust would come to Him running into
this word, but you and me would rather go like the prodigal son and
think about what we would say, how we can settle this, explain ourselves,
prepare ourselves first etc. But from the Lord, we hear: “And everything
is ready!” (Matthew 22:4). Everything!
From eternity on it was a covenant between the Father and the Son.
Now the hour had come, when it would happen. And Jesus speaks of it as a
glorification of both the Father and the Son.
What does the world see, when it sees Christ crucified? It backs off!
But you, what do you see? Notice what Jesus says in this passage: “This
is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent!” (v.3).
“Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the
testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think
a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot,
who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that
sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrew
10:28-29).
What do you see in this? A terrible word which says – poor you if
you do not believe in the Gospel, and in a right
way?
Oh yes, he who despises God’s Gospel, should look at it this way.
But he who longs for faith and the certainty, you see how high God
esteem His Gospel. Which speaks of your salvation in Jesus Christ! The
firmer it speaks to us.
Jesus says about His disciples that, they have kept Your word
(v.6).
What does that mean; - to keep His word? We discover that in v.8:
“For the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they
received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and
they believed that You sent Me.”
They have received His word! How will I know if I am among those
who have received His word? Yes, the Gospel (the word about Jesus) alone,
brings me comfort and life. Everything else is judgement to me! There is
a lot which is both good and necessary in various connections, but I
cannot meet God with that!
Only the word about Jesus can calm the heart, because you are
enlightened of God! Where there is no Gospel, there is only law, with
all the commandments and demands, but where the Gospel is, there is a
fulfilled law. All commandments and demands are fulfilled!
“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You
have given Me to do.”(v.4). When the Holy Ghost lights this up for us,
we will see that the law and the Gospel is two completely different
roads, which does not have anything to do with each other.
There is the law’s way, - it is good, but I am
not. It will not lead to the goal, because in all its goodness and
holiness it only reveals my sin and impurity, and wakes it up to life.
And I will see that as much as I want the good stuff, evil is right
there with me (Rom.7:21).
But where the Gospel way goes – without any commandments and
demands, it cleanses me from all sin and impurity, gives me everything
for nothing and it says: Jesus has gone before me! He has made
the way, and from now on and till you have reached your destination, you
can count on Him, and what He possesses, in your place!
“Father, the hour has come.” It was the set time, when Jesus was
going to die for the ungodly (Rom.5.6). The one from eternity on,
set time. The heavenly door has been open from the day of the fall, yes;
it has never been closed, because the Father chose from eternity on
the Son for the atonement of sins. And the Son obeyed! What rescued and
rescues man, is to get knowledge about this. “The High priest who stands
in the sight of God, with His own blood!”
E.K.
Holy Bible, New American Standard Version
Translator: Benedicte Holtan Smart
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