Hebrews 5:1-4

¹ “For every High Priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of people in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; ²he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is clothed in weakness; ³ and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins for himself, as well as for the people. ⁴ And no one takes the honor for himself, but receives it when he is called by God, just as Aaron also was.”

Every High Priest: In the Old Testament, the work of the priests was constant and ongoing. There were always more sacrifices to be offered because none of them actually took away the sins of the people. Israel’s sins were covered temporarily but were ever present. The works of the High Priest were ultimately a shadow of the coming High Priest, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ offered Himself once and sat down at the right hand of God because His sacrifice was sufficient for salvation.

Weakness: The Old Testament priests were sympathetic to the plight of the people because they themselves had sins that needed to be removed. This is why they offered sacrifices for their own sins as well as the sins of the people. This sympathy of the Old Testament High Priests is a shadow of the compassion found in Jesus Christ who understands the depths of our human condition.