Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh… Hebrews 10.19-20
As I was speaking about the Temple to a group of Jews, one of them asked me the following question:
“Bishop, in the past, only the high priest had access to the holiest place in the Temple, which was the Holy of Holies, and for this to happen, he had to consecrate and purify himself throughout the year, otherwise he would die right as he walked through the veil. In the Temple of Solomon, where is the Holy of Holies? May we all go inside?”
I found this question to be very interesting, because I was able to speak about the priesthood of the Lord Jesus.
This is extremely profound, since the main purpose of the priests was to offer sacrifices for themselves and for the people.
The important detail is that they offered sacrifices, but they were not the sacrifice itself, as was our Lord Jesus. He, as High Priest, entered the Holy of Holies offering Himself as the sole Sacrifice, perfect and definitive to pay and cancel the debt of all of us, in other words, our sins, which prevented us from having access to the Holiest Place, where the Throne of God Almighty was.
Jesus was the Sacrificer and the Sacrifice, all at the same time. This is why He consecrated a new and living path for us through His martyred body on the cross, by which we can, by faith, come into the presence of the Almighty.
We do not need anyone, not even a pastor, priest, bishop or high priest to go in this glorious Place. Do you know why? Because He, our Lord and Savior Jesus, whose name is Holy, consecrated us and made us a kingdom of priests to our God, as it is written:
And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5.9-10
This is exceedingly glorious!
The Temple we built for the Name of the Living God to dwell in, has a large courtyard outside and a large terrace; but inside, there are no division, because all of it is the Holy of Holies. Yes, that’s right!
All those who enter this House of Prayer, whether they are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, religious or nonreligious, have access by faith in the Name of the Lord Jesus, to the Holy of Holies, where the glory of God dwells, because the veil that separated us no longer separates us, for it was torn from top to bottom.
Then, behold, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and rocks were split… Matthew 27.51