Appendix B - When Did Jesus 'Become' High Priest?

Summary

This issue, which is often discussed in the commentaries, concerns not only the nature of Christ's priesthood but also the nature of his perfecting. As raised by the Socinians of the sixteenth century, it was part of a larger question as to whether the death of Christ was truly an atoning sacrifice for sins. Socinus distinguished between Christ's ‘bloodletting’ – his death on the cross which was ‘a necessary preparation for the exercise of priestly service, but of itself possessed no expiatory power’ – and his sacrifice proper. The latter is said to have taken place in the heavenlies, being ‘the presentation of the fruit of Christ's passion to the Most High’. Thus, we are told that:

‘Christ did not offer himself to God on the cross but only in heaven itself. This is amply supported by the fact that Christ was not properly inaugurated to priesthood until after his death, indeed until after his ascension to heaven … Christ was not truly priest before he had attained to the glorification of his body and to immortality.’

As raised by commentators today, the question is not fundamentally whether the death of Christ was an atoning sacrifice for sins, but relating the death of Christ to the concept of his heavenly ministry is still the heart of the matter.