Today is a good day to read Hebrews 7–10. What does it mean to us that Christ has risen from the dead and “taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens”?
When God gave instructions to Moses for building the tabernacle, His intention was for Moses to create a “copy and shadow” of the true tabernacle—the true home of God in heaven where atonement for us needed to be made. For centuries, the people of Israel illustrated to the world what would be accomplished with Christ. Daily, the priests would offer sacrifices for their own sins and the sins of the people. Then once a year, the high priest would enter the very heart of the temple, the Holy of Holies, into the presence of God, taking with him the blood of the sacrifice, to make peace between God and the people of Israel.
“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11–12).
We need a priest to stand between us and our Judge, to remove our guilt and open the way for us. The priests of the past were many, but not sufficient; not only because the sacrifices of goats and calves were not sufficient, but because each priest himself was not sufficient. Each would die, requiring us to appoint another.
But here is what it means to have Christ alive and acting as our high priest, our human representative before the Father:
Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:24–25).
Only a live priest can enter the temple and offer the blood of the sacrifice to the Father. Only a live priest can continue to make intercession for us, guaranteeing that our salvation is forever. It is all finished because Christ rose from the dead.