Daily Bible Verses for 5/16/2016

Bible Verse
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. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Reading Notes
Jesus is fully God and yet fully man, these two natures are inseparable. In other words, Jesus is God in the flesh, and while divine He shared in our humanity without a sin nature, and without losing any of His divinity. This simple fact is so important for us to remember because without this knowledge and understanding we cannot fully comprehend the significance of Jesus’ death for us on the Cross. This is important because if Jesus was not who He claimed to be, who He proved Himself to be, then His sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary, would have been for nothing. Because without divinity and with a sin nature, His death would not have cleared away our sin. This is why Jesus’ death means so much to us! Because He is fully God, He is the Second Person of the Trinity, He is the Creator of all creation and He took upon Himself humanity in order to be our substitute and thereby pay for our sins. By doing so He took upon himself the punishment we deserved. And by accepting Him as our Lord and Savior we can spend eternity in His presence. This is why Jesus is referred to as our High Priest, because, like the High Priest of ancient Israel, His sacrifice for us, has given us access to God. Because of what Jesus did for us, we now have a restored relationship with God the Father. By our faith in Jesus, we can come before God anytime with our love, praise, heartache and prayers.

In the system of Judaism sacrifices were made in the tabernacle which later became the Temple in Jerusalem. The inside of the Jewish Temple contained an inner chamber called the Holy of Holies, this is where the High Priest made a sacrifice to cover (not remove) the sins of the people once a year. This is where God met with His people Israel. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies and he acted is a mediator between the people and God. Moreover, this could only happen once a year. After the High Priest made a sacrifice for his sins, he would then make a sacrifice for the sins of the people. He would take the blood from the sacrifice into the Holy of Holies and place blood on the Mercy Seat which is located on the top of the Ark of the Covenant. The Holy of Holies was separated by a large, very thick curtain. This curtain, which was several inches thick was the wall of separation between God and the people. And it could only be bridged once a year and only by the High Priest. However, when Jesus died on the Cross, immediately this curtain which was impossible to tear ripped down the middle exposing the Holy of Holies. This happened because Jesus, as our High Priest removed the wall of separation, which was created by sin, between us and a holy God forever. Because of Jesus work on the Cross of Calvary and our faith in Him, we can now come before a holy God as children of God. Because of our faith in Jesus, we are adopted into the family of God as faithful children and joint-heirs with Christ in the kingdom of God.