THE SON OF GOD – OUR HEAVENLY HIGH PRIEST

Rev.1:13 – and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash.

When John turned and saw the One with a voice like a trumpet blended with the sound of the ocean He saw his friend Jesus and at the same time he saw the Son of God, our Heavenly High Priest. The heavenly priesthood of Jesus is the result of these two natures of Jesus. First, He is fully man who was tempted in all ways like we are yet He never sinned. He understands the struggles of being human and as a result He has compassion on us. At the same time He is God’s only begotten Son. He has full access to His Father and is seated by Him on the throne as our Advocate in heaven. He prays for us constantly. At the same time, because of the offering of His own blood to the Father, He opens heaven for us. We have full access into the very presence of God. As a result of this heavenly ministry we draw near to Him and experience the reason He did all of this for us. The presence of God, the Holy Spirit, flows over us and empowers us for a supernatural life. John saw this in a moment of time, no wonder the book of Revelation affects us so deeply. Here is how Barclay describes this moment when John saw our Heavenly High Priest.

“The word which describes the robe is podērēs, reaching down to the feet. This is the word which the Greek Old Testament uses to describe the robe of the high priest. The Jewish historian Josephus also describes carefully the garments which the priests and the high priest wore when they were serving in the Temple. They wore ‘a long robe reaching to the feet’, and, around the breast, ‘higher than the elbows’, they wore a girdle which was loosely wound round and round the body. The girdle was embroidered with colors and flowers, with a mixture of gold interwoven. All this means that the description of the robe and the girdle of the glorified Christ is almost exactly that of the clothes of the priests and of the high priest. Here, then, is the symbol of the high priestly character of the work of the risen Lord. A priest, as the Jews saw it, was a man who himself has access to God and who opens the way for others to come to him; even in the heavenly places, Jesus, the great high priest, is still carrying on his priestly work, opening the way for all to the presence of God.”

So how does all of this affect us today? We have a man who represents us seated at the Father’s right hand. He loves you and has beautiful things in store for your life. Embrace Him, worship Him and you will find yourself consumed with His amazing love.