Jesus is the perfect high priest who intercedes for us at the right hand of God the Father. Men have seen his face and he has lived among us. He suffered and died, sinless as he was, for our salvation, and now with his ascension into heaven, our humanity has also been raised. We have indeed a perfect mediator who does not need to offer sacrifices again to appease God. He has once and for all done this when he offered his body on the cross. The Father has accepted his sacrifice and has given him power to save anyone who cries to him for help.

Why do you follow Jesus? Is it because of the miracles he has done for you? In the Gospel, great crowds followed Jesus because they have seen him doing many miracles – healing the sick, multiplying the loaves of bread, etc. Yet when things went wrong, only a handful remained.

To follow Jesus even if he does not cure our ailments and solve our problems is the mark of a mature Christian. This requires a lot of faith and we are called to be faithful to him. Why? Because Jesus has always been faithful to us. His death on the cross should provoke us to believe this and to desire to follow him. Then when we have gotten to know him intimately, we will truly love him because his love for us is very deep and personal.No one loves us as Jesus does. Once we have experienced this, we will want not only want to love him back but also want to imitate him.