“And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest. For He was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire house” (Hebrews 3:1-2 NLT).
In addition to His role as an apostle, Hebrews 3:1 also refers to Jesus as “High Priest.” In Jesus’ day, one of the primary duties of a priest involved the act of representing others before God. A priest was also responsible to present the sacrificial offerings that were necessary to atone for (or make up for) the sins of the people, including himself.
The “High Priest” was the central human figure in this sacrificial system. The High Priest was the only person who was permitted to enter the innermost part of the Temple known as the Most Holy Place. This occurred once a year on the Day Of Atonement (also known as Yom Kippur) when a sacrifice was offered for the sins of the nation, as described in Leviticus chapter sixteen.
It was there within that room that the High Priest came into God’s direct presence. He also came face to face with the Ark of the Covenant, the golden chest that held the Ten Commandments, a jar of manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded (see Hebrews 9:4).
A great veil separated this area from the rest of the Temple. Regarding that veil, one commentator tells us, “The Veils before the Most Holy Place were 40 cubits (60 feet) [or about 18 meters] long, and 20 [cubits] (30 feet) [or about 6 meters] wide, of the thickness of the palm of the hand… these Veils were so heavy, that, in the exaggerated language of the time, it needed 300 priests to manipulate each” (1)
The New Testament Gospel of Mark tells us that this enormous curtain-like structure was torn from top to bottom upon Jesus’ death (see Mark 15:37-38). The fact that this veil was torn in that direction is significant, for it indicates that God was responsible for orchestrating this event. It further served to demonstrate that access to God’s dwelling place was now freely available to all through Jesus’ sacrificial work on the cross.
Finally, Jesus’ atoning death brought closure to the Old Testament sacrificial system, for as we’ll later read in Hebrews chapter nine, “…He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26).
(1) Alfred Edersheim The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book 5, chapter 15