The Death of the High Priest Changed Everything

July 10 2026

Mattot-Massei "Tribes" "Journey of"

TORAH: Numbers 30:2-36:13 | PROPHETS: Jeremiah 2:4-28, 3:4 | GOSPEL: Mark 11:12-25

Were there Israelites who actually looked forward to the death of the High Priest?

In a sense, yes.

In this week's Torah portion, we come across one of the most beautiful pictures that connects the Old Testament with the New Testament—a truth that is easy to overlook.

The Cities of Refuge

God commanded Israel to establish six Cities of Refuge. These cities were places where someone who had accidentally caused another person's death could flee for protection until a proper judgment was made.

If the death was determined to be accidental, the individual was allowed to remain safely within the city.

However, there was one important condition.

"But if the manslayer at any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled, and the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. Because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession."— Numbers 35:26–28 (NKJV)

The person was safe only as long as they remained in the city. But when the High Priest died, they were free to return home and reclaim their inheritance.

A Beautiful Picture of Messiah

This is far more than an ancient legal provision.

It points us to Jesus.

Jesus is our Great High Priest. Through His death and resurrection, He accomplished what the earthly high priests could only foreshadow.

The Law was good, holy, and just, but it could never ultimately provide the freedom that only Messiah could bring. Through His sacrificial death, Jesus opened the way for redemption and restoration.

Restored to Our Inheritance

Just as the death of the high priest allowed the one in the city of refuge to return home and reclaim his inheritance, the death and resurrection of Jesus opens the way to our inheritance.

For Israel, this includes the ongoing promise of physical and spiritual restoration according to God's covenant promises.

For the nations, it reveals the mystery that had been hidden for generations—that Gentile believers are grafted into God's redemptive plan through Messiah.

As Paul writes,

"...that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel."— Ephesians 3:6 (NKJV)

What began as a law concerning the Cities of Refuge ultimately points to God's greater plan of redemption.

The death of the High Priest brought freedom.

The death and resurrection of Jesus, our Great High Priest, brings true freedom and opens the way for both Israel and the nations to enter into the inheritance God has prepared through Him.

Shabbat Shalom.

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NEXT PORTION July 17 2026 Devarim "Tribes" "Journey of"

TORAH: Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22 | PROPHETS: Isaiah 1:1-27 | GOSPEL: Matthew 24:1-22