One of the most fundamental principles of the Old Testament priesthood was this: a priest could not come before God empty-handed. He had to bring a sacrifice to cover both his own sins and the sins of the people. That sacrifice anticipated the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice that Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, offered on the Cross. This was not for His own sins, for he had none, but for our sins.

What better day than Easter Sunday to consider Jesus' high priesthood? The result of His sacrificial death is salvation for us today and forever. When Jesus cried out on the Cross, ""It is finished,"" He was announcing that the full payment for sin had been made. The debt God held against us had been canceled! Praise God for the love that took Jesus to the Cross.

Today, however, we celebrate the fact that Jesus did not remain in the tomb. ""He always lives to intercede for [us]"" (Heb. 7:25). As our eternal High Priest, Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of the priesthood practiced by the somewhat mysterious Old Testament figure named Melchizedek.

The author had started to explain the importance of Melchizedek's priesthood earlier (Heb. 5:1-10). But he despaired of his readers' ability to understand, given their spiritual immaturity. After a parenthetical warning, the author returned to his subject in this passage.

We know very little about Melchizedek, to whom the writer of Hebrews assigned some lofty titles. His name is very significant, however, meaning ""righteousness"" and ""peace."" These two attributes alone are enough to identify him with Jesus Christ.

The writer, however, had other reasons to present Melchizedek as a priestly forerunner of Christ. Neither this man's parentage, birth, nor death were ever recorded. Although the writer is not claiming that Melchizedek is eternal, this lack of human record makes him a fitting representative of the eternal Christ.

But there's another point the Hebrews needed to understand. As a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, Jesus is superior to the priests of the old covenant. Therefore, the ministry He instituted is superior to the priesthood and the sacrificial system of the Mosaic Law, which was never meant to be permanent.

It's hard for us to imagine the earthshaking change that Jesus' death meant for those who had grown up under the Law.

The change was symbolized when the great curtain in the Jerusalem temple, which barred access to God's direct presence, was torn in two as Jesus died (Mark 15:38). Two thousand years later we are still enjoying the full benefits of Christ's death and the assurance of eternal life that His resurrection brings us. Sometime today, try to get alone for a ""mini-retreat"" with the Lord to praise Him for His death on your behalf and for His glorious resurrection.