Leviticus lists many requirements and instructions for high priests. They must be holy and set apart for God. They must not shave any part of their heads. They must not rip their clothes or share their sadness when mourning. They must not leave the sacred tent of the Lord to bury a body (Leviticus 21). All of these rules show a picture of high priests who were perhaps very removed from God’s people.
Hebrews 4:14-16 tells a different story of our great high priest, Jesus. And the good news is this: He understands our struggles because He lived them too. When I think about how Jesus is a high priest who can sympathize with our weakness, I’m reminded of how my spiritual director often encourages me to invite Jesus into the hard things. I’m so quick to just ask Him to “fix it” in terms of a difficult situation or “fix me” in terms of a personal weakness, but sometimes that’s not actually what I need. I just need Him. I simply need to remember that He is present with me. He understands the hard things because He experienced them too. He understands me. Those are the moments that I feel closest to Him.
Seeing Jesus as high priest reminded me of the word “Emmanuel.” He is not a God “over there” but a God “in here” or with us. He is not a faraway, lofty high priest of Leviticus, but one who stands with us in our pain, temptations and weaknesses. He has lived, gone through the heavens, and now can be here with us when we invite Him in.
Because Jesus is our high priest and He gives us access to His Father through prayer, we don’t have to fear the hard things. We know that He’s experienced them. We know that He was tempted in every way, yet He didn’t sin. We can trust Him to give us what we need to get through the hard things in life: mercy and grace and His presence.
For reflection:
- Is there any area of your life in which you feel like no one understands? Talk to Jesus about this and invite Him into the hard things. As you talk to Him, become aware of His presence with you in this situation and receive the peace that comes from knowing that He understands.
by Liz Browning
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