Day 18 – Jesus is the True High Priest; Lust is a Worthless Priest

Lust misguides your heart morally while offering you empty promises of the abundant life that it can never fulfill.

Leviticus 4:20 - ²⁰ Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven.

Leviticus 21:16-20 –

¹⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God. ¹⁸ For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, ¹⁹ or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, ²⁰ or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.

Matthew 9:1-8 –

¹ And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. ² And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” ³ And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” ⁴ But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵ For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ⁶ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” ⁷ And he rose and went home. ⁸ When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

In the Old Testament, God granted forgiveness through the Levitical priests but they did not have the power or authority to forgive sins. They also were told to exclude the disabled and diseased as unclean. Jesus, however, is able to forgive sins and heal the disabled and diseased because He is God the Son in the flesh, the ultimate High Priest forever.