The Role of the our Great High Priest

Priests are mediators of worship. They are the ones who are responsible to serve as God's mediator between God and men. They mediate the covenant and all worship must flow through them. In the old testament, a priest was required to provide a sacrifice.

I was reading 1 Samuel today. Saul made a crucial mistake early in the book by offering a sacrifice in lieu of the presence of Samuel. Saul waited for Samuel, but when he (Samuel) didn't show, Saul decided to offer the sacrifice himself (1 Samuel 13:8-13). Saul lost the Kingdom and favor of God because he "foolishly" approached worship without a priest. He thought he could simply provide a sacrifice on His own accord - but this is insulting to the person and Holiness of God.

Did he fully understand how much his behavior disregarded God? Maybe not, but in fact, this act was anti-Christ. It was anti-Christ in the sense that Saul took over the role of priest. He decided to be the mediator himself, when he was not a Levite. By denying the priest, Saul disregarded the necessity of man to have a mediator between himself and God. Man needs a mediator. The Old Testament priest was a type for the Lord Jesus Christ, and Saul in essence said, "I can come to God without a priest".

But we have a GREAT High Priest (Hebrews 4:14) who has passed through the heavens. Our Great high Priest only had to offer one sacrifice. His sacrifice is all-sufficient. His ministry is everlasting. He is blameless both as priest and sacrifice. His worship comes from one with clean hands and pure heart (Psalm 24).

We have a beautiful savior. Our Worship is always in Spirit and Truth when it is found in this Great High Priest (John 4).