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What the Fathers say
Eastern Fathers
John Chrysostom
Does then this alone show the difference, or does the sacrifice itself also? How? "He needeth not daily, as the High Priest, to offer up sacrifices for his sins, for this He did once for all, when He offered up Himself." "This," what? Here what follows sounds a prelude concerning the exceeding greatness of the spiritual sacrifice and the interval between them. He has mentioned the point of the priest; he has mentioned that of the faith; he has mentioned that of the Covenant; not entirely indeed, still he has mentioned it. …
Theophylact of Ohrid
Having said that our High Priest is "separated from sinners," he now expands on this and says that He is so free from sins that, even having offered His own body as a sacrifice, He did not offer it for Himself — for how is this possible when He committed no sin? — but for us. There is, however, also another advantage. The high priests under the law offered sacrifices daily, since they were unable to cleanse all at once; but He offered a sacrifice having such great power that through it He cleansed the world in a single time. …
Oecumenius
"He does not need, like the high priests, to offer sacrifices daily." Not only, he says, is the difference from the sinless one in relation to the Jewish priests, but also from the manner of the sacrifice, that He does not offer for Himself first, then for the people, and that He made the sacrifice once for the people only. "like the high priests." That is, of the Jews. "he did this once for all." What is this? To offer himself as a sacrifice for the people. For himself, he did not do so even once. …
Western Saints
Thomas Aquinas
376. – Then when he says, He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, he removes from Him anything that was imperfect in the priesthood of the Law. But what was imperfect was that he needed the sacrifices of atonement: 'He shall offer the calf for himself; and the goat for the people' (Lev. 16:11). Therefore, he prayed for himself; and not only once but frequently. The reason for this is that the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests: 'A weak man and of a short time' (Wis. …
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