Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

I think many times in life we experience things that set us up for other things down the road. I have found this on multiple occasions.

A miracle that showed God’s hand … gave me the faith to understand he was with me in a later trial. A man of faith who taught me to memorize God’s word …prepared me to mentor others in this process. Being a camp counselor at 18, a guardian of a troubled youth at 32 … prepared me to bless a cabin of boys and handle the challenges they had this weekend.

God foreshadows future spiritual victories in my life by putting me through past situations to trust him and see his hand.

In a similar way, he foreshadowed the coming of Jesus by sending others before him who, only in a small way, played the part Jesus plays in our lives today.

Other priests were human and they offered the sacrifices of broken men to God. Jesus was human and is God and he offered, as a perfect High Priest, the sacrifice far greater than the old priests — he offered his body on a cross.

And now, as his body is risen, it stands (he stands) as an eternal sacrifice for our sins in the presence of God. And Jesus petitions God for all we need every hour of every day. His love for us knows no bounds and his mercies are new every morning!

What a faithful High Priest I have in Jesus!

Lord, thank you for loving me so much that you died as the perfect sacrifice for my sins. And thank you for always petitioning God for my needs every day, in every way! Praise you, Father!