Nathan’s Notes- 4/14/2019

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    Happy Palm Sunday! As we approach Easter and our celebration of the resurrection of our Lord, we continue to look at His roles as “Prophet, Priest, and King”. Today we will be focused on Jesus as a priest. Priests were a central part of Old Testament society. It was the priest who offered the sacrifices to God on behalf of the people, and they had sacrifices for a lot of things. Sometimes it was grain, sometimes wine, often an animal. Did you do something wrong? Time to make a sacrifice. Did you accidentally touch something unclean? A sacrifice is required. In Jerusalem for the Passover? Feeling thankful? Having a baby? Finishing a vow? Sometimes it was waved before the alter, sometimes it was burned, sometimes eaten, and sometimes poured out. Sacrifice was a HUGE part of the Israelite’s existence. Understandably so, since it helped to center so much of their lives around God.

The most famous sacrifice was for atonement for the sins of the people. However, we are told in Hebrews 10:4 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” So, what does take away sins? This question is answered in one word: Jesus. As our Priest, He made the perfect sacrifice of Himself. This is the sacrifice that takes away all our sins. This is the sacrifice that does not need to be repeated year after year. This is the sacrifice that pays our debt in full. That’s what we will be studying today: how Jesus, our High Priest, paid all of our debt when we were unable to ourselves.