I don’t know if you have noticed, but whenever a religious leader is featured in some way in modern media, as in television shows or in cinema, that the character is most often a Catholic priest? When I see such a character appear in a television show or in a movie, I will say to my wife, “Just watch. That priest will either be a victim of a crime or the criminal.” Usually, regarding 21st Century media, I am right.
This lack of respect for priests is a post-modern phenomenon. Traditionally, our culture treated priests with respect, and Biblically, priests were honored and respected. I suspect that many reasons exist for this apparent fall from grace, but today we want to return to the Biblical perspective on priesthood.
We must obtain a Biblical view of the priesthood, because the writer of Hebrews has asserted that Jesus is the Greatest Priest in Hebrews 4:14-5:10. Let’s begin with Hebrews 4:14-5:4:
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time. For every high priest taken from men is appointed in service to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he is also subject to weakness. Because of this, he must make a sin offering for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was.
The Ministry of the High Priest:
In our lives, we are familiar with the idea of an intermediary, or someone who stands in-between two parties in a transaction. A common example of that might be a real estate agent. When people sell a property, they engage a real estate agent to conduct the negotiations for that transaction. Their agent communicates with the buyer’s agent until an agreement on a purchase price and conditions is agreed upon that is acceptable to both parties.
I found it interesting that the last time we bought a home, my wife and I were scheduled to arrive at the attorney’s office at a different time than the sellers were scheduled to arrive. It was as if the real estate agents were afraid that we might get in a contention with the sellers over the deal they had brokered. I think they imagined one of us saying, “Hey, I’ll arm wrestle you for that extra $5,000.00 on the price.” I am not sure why it was necessary to keep us separated, but they did, and all the details were processed through their offices.
Another example of an intermediary, one with which a westerner would not be familiar, but which the people of Biblical times might be, is found in the Mandinka People of West Africa. My wife and I worked among the Mandinka People when we served with the International Mission Board, and we learned that in their culture, marriages were arranged between the parents of the bride and the groom. All these arrangements were negotiated by a man called a silañtonko, which word essentially means way maker.
Again, one of the issues that a silañtonko, must carefully deal with is money, specifically the details of the bride’s dowery. As our local language coach told me, “No money goes from the hand of the father of the bride to the hand of the father of the groom without going through the hand of the silañtonko. Not even a penny!” The goal is to maintain harmony and avoiding direct confrontation between families.
As we see in the Scriptures in general, and in our specific passage for today, the role of a priest was also to be a go-between, or an intermediary. In the priest’s ministry, the stakes were much higher, however:
- Instead of standing between the buyer and seller of a property, and instead of standing between the family of a groom and the family of a bride, a priest stood in the gap between God and people.
- Instead of dealing with human commerce or human culture, a priest dealt with human culpability, human sin.
- Instead of concluding his work by presenting an acceptable cash settlement, a priest presented an acceptable sacrifice to God for the remission of human sin.
- Instead of negotiating the details of human society, a priest negotiated the salvation of the human soul.
Thus, the priest’s role was a serious one, and God’s law required that he was chosen for it, and that he had to meet certain criteria. That’s why Saul sinned by making an offering instead of waiting for Samuel. Also, Nehemiah records that, at the time of the return from exile, some men were acting as priests in the Temple who were not qualified, and so he excluded them until they could provide proper credentials. When you stand between God and people with their souls in the balance, no random person off the street will do!
If the priest’s role was a serious one, the role of the high priest was even more serious. While the priests would offer sacrifices for sin daily, they only did so in what was called the Holy Place in the Temple. Even they were banned from the inner-most court of the Temple which was called the Holy of Holies. This was where the Arc of the Covenant was kept, and this was also the place where the Jews believed that God resided with them.
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest, and only the high priest, could enter the Holy of Holies. The only reason that the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies was to present to God a sacrifice for all the sins of God’s people during that year. This was such a high-stress and tension-filled task that legend has it that some high priests were afraid that, instead of presenting the offering for sin, they, themselves, would be struck down by God for their own sin.
The priestly ministry, and particularly the ministry of the high priest, was all about making atonement for human sin, and acquiring God’s forgiveness and pardon for it.
The Model High Priest:
Now, let’s read verses 5:5-10:
In the same way, the Messiah did not exalt Himself to become a high priest, but the One who said to Him, You are My Son; today I have become Your Father, also said in another passage, You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. During His earthly life, He offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. Though He was God’s Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. After He was perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him, and He was declared by God a high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
We have seen the importance of the ministry of priests, but next we will see the importance of the character of priests. Not every line of priests is the same.
To illustrate this point, let’s consider the law enforcement agencies in your community. It would be surprising to tally the number of agencies in your local area with the powers of arrest. In many ways they are the same, but at the same time they are different. The police of one town have a certain jurisdiction, while those in a different town have a different jurisdiction. Some sheriff’s deputies may patrol like city police officers do, while some may only support the courts and operate a jail. St. Louis County, MO is unique in not having an office of sheriff, with other agencies fulling that role. Thus, all law enforcement agencies are the same, but at the same time they are all different. The same is true for priests.
The Bible records at least three different lines of priests. One line of priests that are found in the Bible are pagan priests. These, of course, served false gods and they led people astray. A modern example of these false priests and prophets would be the political commissars in the Soviet Army in the last century. Instead of chaplains, the Soviet Army had political commissars who were responsible to indoctrinate their troops with godless communism. Now, in the 21st Century, our society is still replete with people who lead others astray.
Another line of priests was established by the Mosaic Law, and these are the priests we most often think of in terms of the Jewish faith. Many of these priests were God-fearing men, but some were not. As I mentioned before, some men who were not qualified to be priests were serving in the Temple during Nehemiah’s time, and the rot became so bad that by the time of the New Testament, the high priest was appointed by the Romans, of all people. This priesthood no longer served God, or God’s people.
I know of a small town in Alabama whose police department turned rogue. The officers fraudulently wrote speeding ticket after speeding ticket to both the citizens they were sworn to protect, as well as other members of the public who were passing through on their way to other places. People who were minding their own business were stopped without cause and cited for violations that they did not commit. The town’s coffers swelled, as did the number of police officers. The police chief had become a minor warlord, and the police force was an occupying army.
Eventually, state authorities became aware of this situation. After a thorough investigation, the agency was judged to be unredeemable, and it was disbanded. Not long after this, the former police chief was arrested for impersonating a police officer by displaying his badge to try to avoid receiving his own speeding ticket in another part of the state!
Jesus was obviously superior to the pagan priests, and He was also superior to the Mosaic priesthood as well. In fact, He was a priest of a superior lineage, the line of Melchizedek. But who was Melchizedek?
Let’s read Genesis 14:17-20.
After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High. He blessed him and said: Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and I give praise to God Most High who has handed over your enemies to you. And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
As you can see, we don’t know much about Melchizedek, but what we do know is impressive. First, he was a priest before the Mosaic law. His priesthood came first, and it never degenerated into the hot mess that the Mosaic priesthood became.
Next, his name meant king of righteousness. This meant he had authority, but that he would never abuse his authority. He would be upright, honest, and an honorable priest and king. Also, he was king of Salem, which means peace. Many scholars believe he was the king of the area where Jerusalem was founded years later.
Another factor we can see here is that he blessed Abram, and he brought to him the elements of what became the Lord’s Supper. He is also the only person to whom Abram paid a tithe offering. In addition, we don’t know where he came from to bless Abram, and we don’t know where he went after this event. Melchizedek was certainly a unique priest from a unique line of priests.
All the evidence we see adds up to Melchizedek being a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus. This makes perfect sense when we remember that the ministry of Jesus was all about making atonement for human sin and providing God’s forgiveness and pardon for it.
The Matchless High Priest:
Because Jesus was a high priest from His own line, He was unequalled; He was matchless. First, He was just like us, only different. Hebrews 4:15 says:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus has lived our lives. He has walked our path. He has experienced the joys and the frustrations of living with people. He knows what our lives are like, but unlike us, Jesus never sinned.
Jesus never got tired along the way and quit, nor did He leave the path. Jesus never became angry with someone over the way that they treated Him, and He never got depressed and defeated either. Jesus never gave into to the temptations which we all face, and that made him a perfect match to be our high priest, and that made Him the matchless high priest.
Next, let’s read Hebrews 5:2:
He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he is also subject to weakness.
As I have said before, a major challenge in ministry is to balance conviction with compassion. Humanly, it is nearly impossible to keep those two elements of ministry in balance, but Jesus did. Many scriptures refer to His great compassion.
- In Matthew 10:29, Jesus said that a sparrow does not fall in the field without God’s knowledge and care.
- In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said that His yoke was light and His burden was easy.
- In Matthew 23:37, Jesus said that He longed to gather God’s children together, like a hen gathers her chicks.
- Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 and the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. All of these focused on kindness to those who were lost and needed saving.
- Jesus even healed the ear of the high priest’s servant in John 18, and He healed the soul of the thief on the cross in Mark 15.
Jesus balanced compassion and conviction perfectly. He could be compassionate towards us, because He came to fulfill the law and He did fulfill the law. He did for us, what we could not do for ourselves and set the conditions so that He could be compassionate towards us.
Let’s also read Hebrews 5:7-9,
During His earthly life, He offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. Though He was God’s Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. After He was perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.
Because of His righteousness, the compassion of Jesus was not temporary, but permanent. Priests made sacrifices daily, and every year the high priest had to make the offering in the Holy of Holies. Jesus came, lived a perfect life, and He permanently fulfilled God’s law.
If the law was fulfilled there is no more guilt as Paul said in Colossians 1:21-22,
Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him — if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.
The matchless ministry of Jesus was all about making permanent His atonement for human sin and providing God’s forgiveness and pardon for it.
We Must Magnify our High Priest:
So, what does this mean for our daily lives? What difference does this make to us? What difference should it make? Let’s go back to Hebrews 4:14,
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession.
We have a great high priest who is our loving advocate with our Father in Heaven. We must hold fast to Him! This means that:
- Jesus must be more precious to us than the most precious things in our lives.
- Jesus must be more powerful to us than the most powerful things in our lives.
- Jesus is more perceptive of our needs and wants than the most perceptive people in our lives.
- Jesus wants to be more personal to us than the most personal things in our lives.
- Jesus can perform for us what no one else can perform in our lives.
Because ministry of Jesus was all about making atonement for our sin and providing God’s forgiveness and pardon for it we must make much of Jesus in our lives and in the lives of those whom we love.
Conclusion:
The invitation to us is clear,
Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.
What will our response be?
Every blessing,
Dr. Otis Corbitt
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