December 24

Hebrews 6-10

I love that today's passage is all about Jesus and what He has done for us. It's a great reminder of why we celebrate Christmas.

The author of Hebrews makes a comparison between Jesus and the high priest and sacrifices of the old covenant. As we read in the old testament earlier this year, the high priest was responsible for being the mediator between man and God. Once a year, he would enter the Holy of Holies and present an atoning sacrifice for Israel's sins. The problem with this situation is it only atoned for Israel's sins up until that point. Any future sins would have to be dealt with by the high priest with another sacrifice the next year. It was a never-ending cycle of sinning and sacrificing.

Then there was Jesus. He came to Earth to form a new covenant that permanently wiped away all sins for all people, past present and future. The amazing thing is that Jesus served as the new high priest and the new sacrifice. He is the mediator between us and God. The high priest was the only one who could enter into God's presence. After Jesus died, the veil that separates the Holy of Holies with the rest of the temple was torn. There is no longer a barrier that separates us and God. Jesus is also the perfect sacrifice that was sufficient to cover all of our sins. It's not necessary to make multiple sacrifices because Jesus paid it all! He is the perfect and never-ending mediator and sacrifice, enabling us to have a right relationship with God.

Tomorrow, remember to thank Jesus for coming to Earth and bridging the gap between us and God.

Jesus paid it all
All to him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow
Oh praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!