Bible Verses About Great High Priest: 12

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess."

— Hebrews 4:14 (NIV)

People who search bible verses about Great High Priest want Scripture on Jesus as the great high priest — Greek archiereus in Hebrews 4:14 — not only the general high priest inventory, and not a bare priest catalog alone. This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about high priest, Bible verses about priest, Bible verses about sacrifice, Bible verses about atonement, Bible verses about Jesus, Bible verses about hope, Bible verses about faith, and Bible verse of the day. Great High Priest here means Hebrews' archiereus confession of Jesus — distinct from high-priest / priest surveys alone. We do not ship /archpriest or /great-priest twins.

Word study (lead theme). In Greek, ἀρχιερεύς archiereus (Strong's G749; Bible Hub G749) — high priest; Hebrews calls Jesus the "great high priest" who has passed through the heavens (Hebrews 4:14) and the priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. This list tracks that Great High Priest / Hebrews priesthood vocabulary, not the whole Aaronic high-priest inventory alone.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hebrews 4 presses that believers have a Great High Priest in Jesus — ascended, sympathetic, and worthy of firm confession (Bible Hub MHC Hebrews 4; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Hebrews 4). (High-priest and priest lists live on those pages; this list centers the Great High Priest title.)

12 Bible verses about Great High Priest

1. Hebrews 4:14. "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess." Great high priest — archiereus. See Bible verses about faith.

2. Hebrews 4:15. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin." A high priest who can empathize. See Bible verses about hope.

3. Hebrews 5:5-6. "In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.' And he says in another place, 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'" A priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. See Bible verses about Jesus.

4. Hebrews 6:20. "where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." A high priest forever. See Bible verses about forerunner.

5. Hebrews 7:24-25. "but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." A permanent priesthood; he always lives to intercede. See Bible verses about intercession.

6. Hebrews 7:26. "Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." Such a high priest truly meets our need. See Bible verses about holiness.

7. Hebrews 8:1. "Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven," We do have such a high priest. See Bible verses about ascension.

8. Hebrews 9:11. "But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation." Christ came as high priest of the good things. See Bible verses about tabernacle.

9. Hebrews 9:12. "He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption." By his own blood, once for all. See Bible verses about blood of Jesus.

10. Hebrews 10:21-22. "and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings," A great priest over the house of God. See Bible verses about the church.

11. Psalm 110:4. "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'" A priest forever — the oath Hebrews cites. See Bible verses about promises.

12. Hebrews 2:17. "For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people." A merciful and faithful high priest. See Bible verses about atonement.

How to use these verses

Pick one verse when you need Jesus as Great High Priest — not twelve as a grind. If you need Hebrews 4:14 archiereus, start there. If you need sympathy in temptation, open Hebrews 4:15. If you need permanent priesthood, open Hebrews 7:24-25. For the broader high-priest list, open Bible verses about high priest. For priest, open Bible verses about priest. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.

Questions people ask

What is a good Bible verse about Great High Priest?

Hebrews 4:14 (great high priest who has ascended), Hebrews 7:24-25 (permanent priesthood; always lives to intercede), and Hebrews 8:1 (such a high priest at God's right hand) are clear starting places.

How do Bible verses about Great High Priest differ from high priest alone?

High priest covers Aaronic and general high-priest passages. This page centers Hebrews' "great high priest" confession of Jesus (archiereus) — then cross-links the high-priest list. See Bible verses about high priest.

What does archiereus mean?

Greek archiereus (G749) means high priest. Hebrews applies it to Jesus as the Great High Priest who passed through the heavens and lives forever to intercede.

Is Great High Priest the same as priest or Melchizedek alone?

Related but not identical. Priest and Melchizedek language feed Hebrews; this page tracks the Great High Priest title and Hebrews priesthood of Jesus. We do not ship /archpriest or /great-priest twins. See Bible verses about priest.

How can I remember these verses?

Read Hebrews 4:14, then Hebrews 7:25. Thank God that Jesus is the Great High Priest who always lives to intercede. For atonement beside that confession, open Bible verses about atonement. For Jesus, open Bible verses about Jesus.

Sources

• Blue Letter Bible lexicon: G749 (links above).
• Bible Hub Greek entries and Matthew Henry Concise on Hebrews 4 (links above).
• Cross-links: high priest, priest, sacrifice, atonement, Jesus, hope, faith, forerunner, intercession, holiness, ascension, tabernacle, blood of Jesus, the church, promises.