Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. (Hebrews 7:27)
The question has been raised as to what is meant by “this.” Did Christ offer for His own sins once, as did the high priest, and then for the people? Christ had no sin of His own. The only sins He had were those He bore for us. He was made to be sin (2 Cor. 5:21). When, therefore, He offered Himself once, He provided for all the sins He carried. Those sins were our sins, which He bore in His body on the tree. They were His sins only as He had taken upon Himself the responsibility for them. He bore them vicariously.
Who needeth not daily.
There is no record of the high priest’s bringing a sin offering daily. There was an offering commanded to be offered daily by Aaron and his successors, but this appears to be a meal offering and not a sin offering (Lev. 6:20-22). The difficulty is therefore with the statement that the high priest of old presented a sin offering daily, and that Christ did not need to do this.
This difficulty has been explained by the consideration that whatever services the priests performed, they did as deputies of the high priest. They officiated in his place, and what they did was counted as though the high priest himself did it. They were merely helpers, and as they did offer sin offerings daily, the high priest can be said to offer daily.
For his own sins.
On the Day of Atonement the high priest offered first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people (Lev. 16:11, 15). This was necessary. Being sinful, he could not appear before God in the most holy place unless and until he had brought an offering for himself. Christ did not need to do this. He was sinless.