We Believe In Jesus: The PriestSample

Jesus’ Loyalty to God: John 17:4

As we mentioned previously, priests were required to demonstrate a special measure of loyalty to God by worshiping and serving him alone, and by carefully carrying out the duties that God assigned to them. And one of the primary reasons for their duties was to ensure that God’s people were also loyal to God, both morally and ceremonially, so that they could enter God’s special presence without fear. This was one of the main services that priests provided. 

Jesus met these same requirements with absolute perfection. He always worshiped and served God and God only. And he always obeyed the Father’s commands. And through this priestly ministry, Jesus is able to prepare us to enter God’s special holy presence.

In a general sense, we could look at the full content of all four gospels as proof of Jesus’ loyalty to God. He followed the commission given to him by his Father; he spoke only what his Father gave him to say; and he did only those things that he saw his father doing. But there are also many particular passages in the New Testament that summarize these ideas explicitly, such as Matthew 26:42; John 5:19, 14:31, and 17:4; and Hebrews 7:5-7. 

Jesus’ perfect loyalty to God is a critical aspect of his success as our Great High Priest. Only by being completely loyal to God can he make his followers perfectly holy, and enable us to dwell in God’s special holy presence for eternity. And we find many examples of this in Scripture. For instance, he prayed specifically for our holiness in his high priestly prayer in John 17:19. And according to passages like Romans 15:16 and 1 Corinthians 6:11, God has already answered that prayer by making us holy in his sight.