Our only High Priest

Christ is not just any priest, but he whom the God of peace raised from the dead - This makes him unique. The Lord Jesus Christ is endowed with the "power of an indestructible life"

One of the clearest teachings of the New Testament is that which points to Jesus Christ as the sole and high priest of his Church, that is, as the only mediator between God and men. Although there are indications of the priestly office of Christ in the Gospels (Gospel of Matthew 22: 41-46, 26: 63-64, Gospel of Mark 14: 61-62), it is particularly the epistle to the Hebrews that presents Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as that definitive high priest. This can not surprise us in any way since the purpose of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews is to demonstrate the superiority of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, above all and all. Thus, the epistle affects his excellence over angels. The glory of Christ is greater than that of Moses and, even, his priesthood puts an end to the priestly order of Aaron and his descendants, by constituting his decisive fulfillment.

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This primacy of the priestly office of the Son of God is based, from the outset, on the union of his two natures in one person. The epistle to the Hebrews minutely details its double nature, divine and human. Jesus Christ was true man. At the beginning of this letter we are told: "So, because the children partook of flesh and blood, He also participated in the same, to destroy through death the one who had the rule of death, that is, Devil, and deliver all those who for fear of death were all their lives subject to servitude. Because he certainly did not help the angels, but he helped the descendants of Abraham. Wherefore in all things he was to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people "(Epistle to Hebrews 2: 14-17). The Scripture also emphasizes his closeness to us by choosing to become a man to be afflicted and put to the test. And for that reason, Jesus can feel sorry for our weaknesses and help us when we are tempted. A man who, although he "suffered being tempted" (Epistle to Hebrews 2:18), never sinned.

He was always "holy, innocent and undefiled" (Epistle to Hebrews 7:26). At the same time, the epistle to the Hebrews, in harmony with the rest of the New Testament, reveals precisely that Jesus Christ was God himself. The author of this letter, citing the Old Testament, calls Christ the God: "But of the Son he says: Thy throne, O God, for the century of the century; scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom "(Epistle to Hebrews 1: 8). Furthermore, the Son is the one through whom God has made the universe (Epistle to Hebrews 1: 2). In the words of Psalm 102, which Hebrews refers to the Son: "And: You, O Lord, in the beginning you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and all of them will grow old like a garment, and like a garment you will wrap them, and they will be changed; but You are the same, and your years will not end "(Epistle to Hebrews 1: 10-12). Christ is, therefore, true God and man. And it is precisely because of the permanent possession of both natures that it can be our only and final high priest (Epistle to Hebrews 5: 4-5).

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