This is an addendum to this article.
I realised that, when I mentioned that Jesus pleading on our behalf is symbolised by the sprinkling of the blood before the veil, I missed the point.
The sprinkling of Jesus' blood before the veil necessarily came before the high priest entered the most holy place. Jesus' blood opened a way for humanity to approach God by claiming the merits of His sacrifice. He opened the way to God for us; in fact, by His sacrifice, He became the way to God's throne of mercy to us. God therefore tore the veil of the temple when Jesus was sacrifices to show us that Jesus had become the ladder that connected the world to the throne of God.
Now, the ark of the covenant was covered by a mercy seat, and within it were the tablets containing the ten commandments. This symbolises God's kingdom, founded on His law, and tempered by His mercy.
The demands of the law of God for justice are met by the blood of Jesus which was presented to God, the Father of mercy, and symbolised by the sprinkling of the blood before the mercy seat by the high priest.
Jesus presented Himself before the father after His resurrection, a pure sacrifice, and before He did that, He showed Himself to Mary but did not allow her to touch Him yet. He wanted His sacrifice to be as pure as possible.
His sacrifice was accepted.
The sprinkling of the blood by the priest on the mercy seat, therefore, symbolises Jesus saying, "forgive this man, Father, and accept my sacrifice on his behalf."