Exodus 28 and 39 put the high priest in garments that were not somebody’s good idea. The repeated line, “as the Lord commanded,” keeps saying that God gave explicit instruction because every thread, stone, color, and place pointed to Jesus. The blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, and gold spoke of humanity and deity together, and the same colors at the tabernacle door pointed to Christ as the way in. Jesus fulfilled the priest and the prophet. He did not abolish it. He fulfilled it. The shoulder stones showed the high priest carrying Israel before God. Six names sat on one shoulder, six names sat on the other, and those names were not decoration. The shoulder is the place of strength, the place where weight gets carried. Every time the high priest went toward the altar of incense, the people’s names went with him. Jesus now carries His people before the Father, and His intercession is not weak, distant, or occasional. Romans 8 and Hebrews 7 say He lives to make intercession, and He saves to the uttermost, even to the extreme. John 10 and Luke 15 show the same picture through the Good Shepherd. Jesus knows His sheep, and His sheep know His voice. When one sheep wanders, the Shepherd does not shrug and say ninety nine is good enough. He goes after the one, calls it, finds it, and lays it on His shoulders rejoicing. The rod and staff may comfort through correction, and the Shepherd may allow the judgment of disobedience, but He also nurtures, heals, and brings the sheep back closer than before.
