The key worker

Over the past couple of weeks a large proportion of us in the UK have had the humbling experience of finding that we are not key workers. Our work is not essential, not critical to national survival. While most of us are at home and many unable to work, doctors, delivery drivers, soldiers, stackers and other key workers are working flat out for us.

The Day of Atonement must have felt similar in Old Testament times. In ancient Israel, once a year, for one dramatic day, everyone in the nation was furloughed. No-one could do any work. There was just one man working - the high priest. He had a lot of work to do. Check out Leviticus 16. He had to wash very carefully and put on personal protective equipment (v4). He had to follow some very detailed regulations. He had to butcher several large animals - very heavy work. He had to do some extremely stressful stuff - entering the most dangerous 80 square metres on the planet. He did it all alone. Admittedly, there was the man who took the scapegoat into the wilderness (v26) and there was the man who dealt with the carcasses of the sin offerings (v28) but only the high priest was allowed in the tabernacle from the time that he went in to make atonement until he came out having made atonement (v17).

After 1500 years of this annual ritual, the Great High Priest arrived. And he did the work of atonement alone. Admittedly there was a man who carried the crossbar for him and there was another man who dealt with his body, but this high priest did all the actual work of atonement alone. Unseen to anyone watching at Golgotha, he entered into the heavenly Most Holy Place (of which the earthly one was only a copy) as both perfect high priest and perfect sacrifice (Heb 9). He is the ultimate key worker. The one who does what we cannot; who works while we wait; who does what is necessary to save his nation and implement the great exit strategy.

And then there is Easter Day.

The people of Israel on the Day of Atonement waited to see if the high priest would emerge from the tabernacle. That was the great drama. There were a dozen ways it could go wrong inside that tent and they could see nothing. They could only wait. If the high priest emerged they would know that it had worked - he had done it - atonement had been accomplished.  But he might not emerge. It could go either way.

On Easter morning our Great High Priest appeared.
It worked!
He has done it!
Atonement has been accomplished!
God's wrath has been satisfied!
We are forgiven!
We are safe!