God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
In some respects, Jesus’ priesthood is vastly different for that of Aaron and his successors. He does not merely assist sinful human beings in securing forgiveness from God; He Himself forgives sins (Mt. 9:1-8). The Jewish high priest had to “offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people;” Jesus, the sinless One, addressed the sins of others exclusively (Heb. 5:3; 7:26-28; 4:14-16). Moreover, He saves His people from their sins, not by slaying goats, calves and lambs, but by sacrificing Himself and pouring out His own blood (Mt. 1:21; 20:28; 26:26-28).
We should not assume that, because God promises to provide a way out of temptation, we have no role in our own rescue. God always provides a way of escape, but He may also require great effort from us. We take advantage of the way of escape God provides by exerting every resource He gives us to fight the enemy… To increase our faith and strengthen our character, God more often allows us to escape temptation by using the means of grace always available to us: conscientiously seeking God’s power and instruction through prayer, meditation on His Word, and the counsel of mature Christians are never passive endeavors.
