A Room Full Of Priests

Introduction

A priest, a rabbit, and a Baptist minister walk into a bar. The bartender asks the rabbit "what'll ya have?" The rabbit says:

"I dunno... I'm pretty sure I’m only here because of a typo.”

I tried to come up with my own “a priest and some other people walk into a bar joke” that would somehow connect with today’s passage, but I couldn’t make it work, so I just thought I’d offer somebody else’s!

But priests are important for today. Not Catholic priests or Anglican priests but, well,... us priests. If you’re a follower of Jesus you are, as it turns out, a priest, chosen by God and part of a royal priesthood. So if you ever want to have some fun when you’re filling out some government paperwork and you’re asked what your occupation is, you could see what happens if you put “royal priest” in the box.

But what does this priesthood status mean?

I’ve been unpacking some core beliefs for Christians, and specifically for Baptists, in this series called “Explain Yourself.” The idea is to better understand what we’re supposed to be about as followers of Jesus and how to live that out in a way that sets us apart.

So far we looked at the Lordship of Jesus, and what it means that He comes first and gets the last word in our lives and for the Church. We explored the Bible as our primary authority for what we believe and how we act, and some reasons it is trustworthy. And last week I preached on the topic of soul liberty, which has some overlap with today’s topic: the priesthood of all beleivers.

The overlap comes from the Bible’s teaching that all followers of Jesus possess the Holy Spririt, and through the Spirit they have direct access to God.

They don’t need a priest or Temple or pastor or church to act as a mediator for them. You don’t have to go through someone or something to get to God. You can pray and God will hear. You can listen and discern God’s guideance. You can read the Bible and find the truth that you need. There’s a beautiful freedom in that. But it doesn’t make Christians lone rangers. We’re part of something bigger than ourselves, and the language of priesthood can help us understand and find our place in it.

Like The Living Stone

Let’s dig into this passage from the book of 1st Peter that talks about being a royal priesthood twice in nine verses. Chapter 2 starts with a “therefore” and as the Bible interpretation cliché says, if you see a “therefore” it’s a good idea to ask what it’s there for.

In this case it’s there because the end of chapter 1 was instructing readers to be holy - followers of Jesus should live in a godly way, particularly in their sincere love for each other.

Chapter two then starts with some things that you need to get rid of accomplish that - things we should purge from our attitudes and speach.

1 Peter 2:1–3 NIV

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Those things are malice (ill-will toward each other), deceit (deliberate dishonesty), hypocrisy (which is pretending to have love or faithfulness), envy (resentful discontent), and slander (backbiting lies).

Disciples of Jesus are to rid ourselves of these negative things that destroy community and instead desire “pure spiritual milk” in order to grow up in our salvation.

This isn’t an instruction simply for new Christians or immature beleivers, it is for everyone. The scriptures, God’s Word, seems to be the pure spiritual milk here. God’s Word doesn’t deceive, instead it sustains and nourishes people spiritually. So one more reminder of the importance of having some quality Bible input into our lives.

Then we get a bunch of talk about stones. But not regular dead stones. 1st Peter likes to emphasize the living nature of faith. It uses the term “living hope” and calls the scriptures God’s “living Word”, and now refers to Jesus as “the living stone”. Living because of the ressurection - Jesus is alive, rejected by humans but chosen by God.

1 Peter 2:4 NIV

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—

But we are also like living stones according to verse 5. Jesus is the living stone, but we are like Him because we share in the eternal life Jesus offered.

1 Peter 2:5 NIV

you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

hat new life begins when we have faith and follow Him, and it waits for future glory. And the Bible says that those people who are like living stones are being built into a spiritual house, to be a royal priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

So, we aren’t stones all out on our own like the big boulders of Peggy’s Cove, we’re construction material. We’re being built into a spiritual house, the Church. But, with apologies to Pink Floyd, nobody is just “another brick in the wall”, we all have a sacred purpose - to be this royal priesthood. I’ll return to that when the passsage does in a few verses.

I Understood That Reference...

But first a quick word about the rest of this passage, because it is stuffed full of Old Testament references. Any of the the originally Jewish early-Christians reading this letter would see these references, recognize them right away, and understand why they were being used. It was natural for them in the same way that all of you recognize when I use a phrase like “We’re not in Kansas anymore” or “Houston, we have a problem.” You know where those came from and that there’s a particular meaning attached to them.

I could just skip explaining this Old Testament stuff that isn’t so obvious to us and tell you “all these verses just mean ____________”, and that might help a bit in avoiding having your eyes glaze over. But I do want to model how studying the Bible works a bit here, as well as showing another example of how the Bible is a unified story that points to Jesus. So hang in here with me and let’s keep talking about stones for a bit.

1 Peter 2:6 (NIV)

For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,

a chosen and precious cornerstone,

and the one who trusts in him

will never be put to shame.”

This comes from the book of Isaiah, who is looking ahead to the Christ - the promised Messiah - who will be the precious cornerstone. The cornserstone is the visible support that the strength and stability of a structure rests on. And those who trust the Christ have a solid foundation. They will never be put to shame.

It’s a different story for those who have no foundation because they have rejected the cornerstone. Quoting next from Psalm 118 in verse 7, the passage refers to Jesus’ life, death, and ressurection in saying:

1 Peter 2:7 NIV

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

Jesus Himself used this Psalm in a parable that pointed to what would happen to Him in Matthew 21.

Then we go back to quoting from the book Isaiah when we reach 1 Peter 2:8:

1 Peter 2:8 NIV

and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

People, particularly the Jewish religious leaders in power, rejected Jesus, not because he failed to make an major impression, but because he didn’t seem to be the sort Messiah they expected or wanted.

Verse 8 says they stumble because they disobey the message. They knew their scriptures well, but they couldn’t see that those scriptures pointed to Jesus. Or perhaps they could see but wouldn’t accept it because it didn’t fit their agenda or their ambitions.

And so, for them, Jesus was a stone that causes people to stumble - a stumbling block. This is what happens if you expect that you can follow Jesus and not have Him challenge your thinking or your comfort. If Jesus is Lord of your life then you don’t call all the shots, and that’s enough to cause people to reject Him.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day rejected this stone that made them stumble - arranging for Jesus’ arrest and cruxifiction. But He became the cornerstone. The cornerstone of the Church, the cornerstone of the lives of those disciples who recognize Jesus for who He is and are willing to put Him first.

Then, when we get to verses 9 and 10 we read:

1 Peter 2:9 NIV

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:10 NIV

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

There’s one more Old Testament reference buried in here. Exodus 19:6

Exodus 19:6 (NIV)

you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

God wanted Israel to be a spiritual influence among the nations, staying faithful to Him, receiving His blessing, and standing out as an example for other nations to follow. But they couldn’t do it. Apart from brief periods of faithfulness they always ended up imitating the nations around them and fell into idolatry instead.

Our passage isn’t taking anything away from Israel’s role and status, but it is taking this charge, this mission first given to Israel and applying it to the Church.

God still wants a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. We’re it. The Jesus-followers. So will we “declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness and into his wonderful light” or adopt the ways of darkness? Now that we have received mercy and had our sins forgiven will be be faithful as the people of God, or go back to being apart from His people?

Or, put another way, now that we have Jesus to help us with the new life He gives, let’s be the people who really do represent God well in the world so that others will be drawn to Him. A royal priesthood. A holy nation. The Church, and our part in it.

The Royal Priesthood

OK, so finally, what’s a priest?

Old Testament priests and their assistants from the tribe of Levi were responsible for several important things.

Facilitating Worship. They set-up, and took down, and carried the Tabernacle (the mobile Temple), they carried the Ark of the Covenant that had the stone tablets with the commandments in it, and they tended to the Temple depending on point in history we’re talking about. They made sure the worship space was ready, with the right furniture and fixtures and other required elements. Priests oversaw all the offerings and sacrifices to God, including all the actual handling of the blood and animal parts that had to be dealt with properly. This was a vitally important aspect of worship - these sacrifices were how the Israelites sought forgivenss, expressed devotion to God, thanked God for his goodness, or made reparations for wrongdoing.

Ensuring the Purity of the Sanctuary. Since they saw God as being physically present within the physical worship space they looked after they didn’t want God’s presence to leave because they failed to respect the purity of the worship space. So they taught the purity laws you read about in books like Leviticus and administered them, and they were in charge of certain cleaning and purifying rituals. The priests decided if your skin rash was the kind that was OK to still come and worship, or if it was the kind that meant you had to leave the camp altogether until it healed.

Teaching the Law. Priests were in charge of teaching the Israelites “all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses” (Leviticus 10:10). And they were also supposed to help decide disputes and resolve certain kinds of conflicts using their knowledge of the Law.

The priests were also examples to the people. They were the ones who got to go closest to the place where God’s presence resided. That had to affect how people looked at them. They were literally closer to God than everyone else, and more educated in the Law. They had a role in their society of representing God to others and encouraging Israel to be faithful.

It’s not hard to see how these roles and responsibilties of Isreal’s priests compare to modern priests or pastors or ministers. People like me organize and facilitate worship services, teach the Bible, help ensure that their church or organization conducts itself in a way that’s consistent with the Bible, and if we need to carry furniture to help get all that done then we do that, too. Just please don’t come and show me your skin rashes, OK?

But today’s passage says that it’s not specifically gifted and trained ministers alone who are priests, it’s everyone who has the Holy Spirit. All followers of Jesus are, together, made into a royal priesthood and holy nation who are comissioned to praise God and proclaim his mercies.

This is why a distinctive Baptist belief is called “the priesthood of the believer” or “priesthood of all belivers”. The Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada define it this way: “ALL believers share as equals in the church, and, in turn, have a priestly role toward each other. Every member is called to be a minister. Differences in education, wealth, gender and so on do not disqualify a person from service or from serving God through ministry to others.”

The church I was baptized had a list of staff on the front of its bulletin listing the pastor, associate pastor, organist, secretary, and so on. But after that list it read: “Minsiters: All The Congregation”. Because there is no area of service that only one specific person can do. There’s no altar that only I can approach. It doesn’t have to "the pastor” who leads communion, or performs a baptism, or leads a worship service.

And some of you might not realize the ways that you are already performing priestly roles. That piano has a humidfier in it that has to be refilled with water every once in a while. Terry does that, maintaining something that facilitates our worship in the sanctuary. That’s being a priest.

Running the church library for many years as Janice once did provided resources that can help teach people the scriptures. That’s being a priest.

Those who lead us in worship through music? Priests. When the power goes out or an outlet doesn’t work and Matt or Alison fix it for us, that’s priestly too. Our Bible study leaders? Priests. And when you serve each other, encourage each other in faith, pray for each other, or take on some task that helps your church function in order to bless people, you’re taking part in this royal priesthood Jesus has placed you in.

Priestly Posture

The version of “the priesthood of all believers” I learned growing up in church always seemed to come across to me as “everyone should have a job”. Since everyone with the Spirit is gifted and qualified for service there is no excuse - you can do something to serve in the congregation and if you’re not you should get on it.

Maybe that wasn’t how my church intended to explain it, but that’s what I came away with. And that’s not exactly what I’d like you to come away with as the bottom line here.

I think it’s more helpful to think about being part of this royal priesthood as having more to do with posture than position. And by that I mean that it’s not about title or job description or the specific thing you do, but the attitude and disposition we have toward others.

Remember that “therefore”, which points us to the instruction to be holy by loving each other sincerely? It still matters here. Getting this priest thing right starts with how we see each other - as brothers and sisters that we are called to honour, love, and serve.

Jesus, the cornerstone that everything rests on, has brought us together as an example to the world. A holy nation. What do we need to do to live up to that, and to help the people around with this? How will we help each other love sincerely, praise God joyfully, or give thanks for God’s mercy?

This priestly posture should encourage us toward the right role or responsiblity or ministry. Churches are much stronger when they have many members witho have a sense of how they are called to minister to others, as opposed to churchgoers who show up periodically but with no intention to give something or serving anyone.

It is fair to remind people that being part of this priesthood isn’t optional. If you’re hoping that you’re going to end up in God’s care thanks to Jesus one day, you’re fellow priests. The question is whether you’re obeying God by acting that way.

Jonah was still a prophet when he was sailing in the wrong direction because he didn’t like God’s assignment, but refusing to fulfill that role led to some pretty serious complications in his life! You might not like talking in front of people or praying out loud or being on the hook for this or that responsibility or you’re just so busy with other things. But that doesn’t change that you are still a priest who is qualified and called to serve in some way - including ministries of care, prayer and encouragement that don’t require a title, job description, or particular skill set.

Where and how to serve grows out of that posture of mutual love. And this is one of the reasons that we are making some changes to communion tody. Because of COVID we’ve just been having people take one of these sometimes-frustrating combo cups for themselves then they arrive and then use it at the apporpriate time.

But communion normally has a much stronger element of giving and receiving. When we passed the communion plates from person to person that was meant to symbolize our service to each other. You receive from one person, and then give to the next. That’s a priestly thing - you’re participating in worship that way.

It’s why we do that little dance at the front as well where the plates come back and the pastor serves the Deacons and the Deacons come back and serve the pastor when I could obviously just pick the stuff up that’s right in front of me. This is partially to show that there’s no heirarchy, no favoured person. Everyone serves and is served in turn.

We’re still not back to have everyone pass the plates yet, so the Deacons will serve everyone today and I will serve them. But this will be a step back toward a bit of normalcy and a good visual reminder of what it means that we are priests. Because priests don’t come to gathered worship simply looking to receive, or be served. Priests come to give, too. Nobody who belongs to Jesus, who made Himself a servant of all, should ever think otherwise.

The priesthood of all believers is an empowering bit of doctrine. It says everyone counts. Nobody is more important or more esteemed. Nobody is left out of doing things that matters. Whatever time and skill and ability you willingly lay before Jesus He can and will use for good to build His Church and bless the world He loves.

You are a chosen people. A royal priesthood. A holy nation. God’s special possession that you may declare His praises and rejoice in His mercy. Let’s thank God for this gift, and ask for His leading in using it well. Let us pray.