The Priests Who Sacrifice

Introduction and Context

800 words, 7 mins

(This would have been the point where I get down and Kyle comes up to preach, but Kyle caught covid this past week, so we’re praying for him and his family to get better. And in the meantime, you get me instead)

We’re in a series called “The Chosen Ones”. We’re talking about this biblical concept called “priesthood”.

We’ve explored the idea that we are images of God called to bless creation.

To give an example, I’d like to share a very cute picture.

This is Toffee, he’s a 2-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. And whenever you look at him, you can’t help but smile and want to pet him. Pet owners, you will understand: when I’m come home after a long day, and he comes running to me, the world becomes a little bit brighter. It’s as though goodness and joy takes the form of a four-legged animal, and it spills out of him.

Except, of course, when he finds the toilet paper and makes a mess.

What Toffee is to my family is, in a small way, what humans are meant to be to the world.

As images of God, we contain God’s presence and power and goodness, and it should spill out from us into the world. That’s what it means to be a priest.

Today we want to talk about something else that priests do that we’re probably already familiar with. Before this series, if someone asked you, what does a priest do, this is probably what comes to mind.

Slide: priests in the temple sacrificing

Priests work in a temple or sacred space offering sacrifices to God.

But what exactly does a sacrifice do? At least in the biblical context?

When I was growing up, I always assumed that priests offer sacrifices to cover the sins of the people. We use the word “atoning”. It’s like a really elaborate way of saying sorry to God. And that is a big part of it.

But the primary Jewish understanding of the sacrifice is not in terms of apology, but in terms of a divine fellowship meal. It’s where we dine with God and God dines with us. Because the animal that is offered on the altar to God is also comes back to the people, and they have a feast. So symbolically, it is a meal offered by humans, blessed by God, and everyone enjoys it.

Slide with definition

So we might say that A sacrifice allows God and humans to enjoy relationship. Usually, a sacrifice creates space for God to eat with humans. Sometimes, a sacrifice repairs the relationship between God and humans when humans get it wrong.

Now, someone has to handle this sacrifice, and because it’s offered to God, not anybody can handle it!

And that’s why priests are so important in God’s world. These are the special chosen ones who stand in the gap between God and man, who offer humanity’s sacrifice to God and bring the abundance of God back to humans to enjoy. So by offering sacrifices, priests enable humans to enjoy living with God.

This is you and me. We are these royal priests. We are called to offer sacrifices that allow God to have a relationship with humanity and all creation. We pray, we read Scripture, we gather together on Sundays, we live our lives in service to God so that through us, God can have a relationship with those who don’t have a relationship with him yet. He fills the world with goodness and blessing through us!

But what happens when even the priests stumble and fall? What happens when those tasked to spread goodness become themselves corrupt, and begin to spread that corruption? Who’s left to maintain the relationship between God and man then?

Ancient Problem

~700 words, 5 mins

We’re in Exodus 32. This is probably be a familiar story by now.

We’re at the point when Israel has just escaped from slavery in Egypt. They’ve come to Mount Sinai, ready to begin a new stage in their relationship with YHWH. Moses ascends the mountain to receive YHWH’s instruction about building a tabernacle so that YHWH can live with his people, not just up on a mountain. And things are going great!

But 40 days pass and Moses hasn’t come back, and the people are getting nervous.

Exodus 32:1 ESV

1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

Uh oh.

In Genesis 1, God makes humanity as an image of himself. Now humans are trying to make an image of God. It’s a sad, sad reversal of roles. And this is horrifying for two reasons.

First, they’re already breaking the second of the Ten Commandments—Exodus 20:4 “4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” That’s just blatant idolatry!

Second, and the reason why God doesn’t want them to make any carved image, is that he already made the best image there is! God’s image is the Israelite nation itself - living, breathing images of God! So when they want to make an image of God, they’re saying, “We don’t want to be God’s images. We reject God’s calling for us.”

Parents, do you get frustrated when you prepare nutritious food for your children, but all they want is junk food? When they say no to brocolli and spinach and go looking for ice cream or sweets? You’re like, This is good for you! Your body needs this! But they don’t want it!

That’s the same with the Israelites rejecting their God-given calling!

But wait, it gets worse. So they make the image, a golden calf, and then Exodus 32:5-6 says this:

Exodus 32:5–6 ESV

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

Immediately you can see, this is idolatrous worship! But there’s another part to this.

If we rewind to Exodus 24, that’s where Israel first arrives at Mt Sinai, and there’s a big ceremony to celebrate the covenant that God makes with Israel.

Listen to this: Exodus 24:4-5

Exodus 24:4–5 ESV

4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.

And Exodus 24:11b

Exodus 24:11 (ESV)

11 they beheld God, and ate and drank.

Notice the repeated words.

It’s bad enough that Israel has chosen to worship an image that is not YHWH. It’s worse that Israel worships that image in the way that is meant exclusively for the worship of YHWH.

This is the nation called to be YHWH’s royal priesthood? Oh, they’re being priestly! They’re offering burnt offerings and peace offerings in the way YHWH wants them to, but they’re not offering them to YHWH. How sickening is that!

How are they supposed to fulfill their role as priests now? They’re supposed to be the ones offering sacrifices that facilitate God’s relationship with the world, and now they’re disqualifying themselves by sacrificing to another god.

Modern Problem

500 words, 3 mins

If we think about it, we may not be too different from them. Aren’t we also a broken people? Are we not a flawed priesthood, individually and as a church?

We believe we’re called to be God’s image to bless the world in Jesus’ name! Our lives are supposed to be so full of God’s goodness and abundance that it spills out of us! And yet we struggle to do that.

Some of us struggle with doubt. You either sincerely struggle with doubt yourself or know someone who does. It’s like, “You know, I go to church on Sunday and I know I’m supposed to tell others about Jesus, but I don’t know if I really believe this stuff for myself! I still have so many questions, so many things in the Bible I don’t understand and maybe don’t even agree with! But I’m scared if I tell this to anyone, they’ll think I’m a bad Christian or worse, a backslider!” How can we bring others into relationship with God when we doubt our own relationship with him?

Some of us struggle with our family situations. You may come from a struggling family or know someone who does. We may look like a big happy family family on Sunday morning, but as soon as we get in the car or the bus, the mask comes off. The smile fades and the frown comes back. Voices are raised and arguments break out. Or the silent treatment begins. When Paul told Timothy and Titus in the New Testament that church leaders need to have exemplary families, it’s because others evaluate your religion by looking at your family. If your God is really who he says he is, why do y’all still fight like any non-Christian family? If your God is the true God, why doesn’t your spouse or son or daughter go with you? How do we can we bring others into relationship with God when we can’t even do that with our own families?

Some of us struggle with the church community. You may have been scarred by some experience in this church or some other, or you know far too many stories of people, Christians and non-Christians, who have been scarred by church. Maybe there was a leader who fell from grace through an affair or financial mismanagement. Maybe you tried to be honest about your struggles and people condemned you and tried to fix you instead of walking with you. Maybe there’s politics or gossiping going on, just like in any non-Christian environment. If the community God chooses to be his priests can’t get it right, what hope is there? How can we bring others into relationship with God when we’ve got so many problems of our own?

What are we supposed to do when God’s community of priests is broken? What happens when even the usual sacrifices have been perverted?

Let’s return to the story.

Ancient Solution

5 mins

Moses comes down the mountain and sees the calf and the idol worship, and he is furious. And also grieved. Here’s what he does next:

Exodus 32:30 ESV

30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

That’s priestly language. When the whole nation of priests has failed, Moses is going to bear the responsibility of making atonement for them. He’s like a “priest of priests”. So he returns to YHWH—but wait, doesn’t he need an animal to make an atoning sacrifice? How can he make atonement without an animal to sacrifice?

Exodus 32:31–32 ESV

31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.”

That phrase “blot me out of your book” is a Hebrew expression for death. In their worldview, physical death is separation from the living God.

Now, we could read this as Moses offering himself as a sacrifice. He could be saying, “God, please spare Israel; take my life instead!” God is angry, he needs someone to die to be appease his anger, and Moses heroically says, “I volunteer as tribute. Spare them.”

But that’s not quite what Moses is saying. He’s not saying, “Kill me so you don’t kill them.” He’s saying, “If you’re going to kill them, kill me with them.”

This is not an exchange. Not a bargain. If you like big Bible words, this is not a “substitutionary atonement”. This is Moses sharing in the fate of Israel.

Here’s why that’s important. God was ready to destroy the Israelites. And he tells Moses that he’ll start from scratch with Moses as the new Abraham.

He’s offering Moses a promotion! Forget this community of rebellious, ungrateful, betraying losers! They’ve tested my patience and yours long enough. Now they get what they deserve, you get to be the new father of a nation for being such a faithful servant, and I get to work with a nation of priests who will actually obey.

Sounds like quite a good deal! There are some who will question whether God really meant it or if he just wanted to test Moses, but that’s not the point. The point is that Moses has an incredible, literally God-given opportunity!

But he says no. He doesn’t want a future that doesn’t include Israel.

Moses doesn’t need an animal to make atonement because he himself is the sacrifical animal.

Moses is giving up that future, sacrificing that good life so that God can enjoy life together with Israel.

Now, Moses doesn’t succeed this time. Actually, there are at least 5 times in Exodus 32-33 where God says, “You know, I can start over with you and make you a great nation!” and Moses responds with, “No God, you promised to bless the world through Israel, and I don’t want to be part of a world without these people.” Finally, YHWH relents. And how he deals with Israel going forward is a sermon for another time.

I realise that the way I’ve presented this story may make it seem that God is the evil villain bent on destruction and Moses is the hero who rescues his people. But that’s not what this is about.

This story is about how God can only live with a holy priestly community. And if even after protecting them in the wilderness, bearing with their grumbling, feeding them despite their complaining—if even that’s not enough, then they are not worthy to live with him.

But this story is also creating a pattern, that from within the community of fallen and failing priests, God raises a “priest of priests” who gives up his rights and privileges—sacrifices them—so that God can be in relationship with his people once more.

That’s what it means to be a priest who sacrifices.

Modern Solution

What does it mean for us today?

‌‌Like Israel, we will stumble and fall. We’re not going to meet Christ’s standards all the time, neither will we always meet each other’s expectations.

What would it look like to be for one another what Moses was to Israel? What would it look like to offer ourselves as a “living sacrifice”, as Paul says?

I return to this definition of a sacrifice. A sacrifice is something that allows God and humans to enjoy relationship.

So be a living sacrifice is when we become the way that God enjoys a relationship with broken, fallen humans. We become instruments of peace, showing and sharing God’s goodness and love. We invite others into the presence of God, where they know a joy and a comfort unlike anything else.

Doubt

If someone in the church is struggling with doubts and questions, and maybe they’ve started to drift away from faith and church, how do we be a priest, a living sacrifice for them?

Our default is think, “Oh, doubt is a bad thing! How dare you question God! It means you’re not faithful enough!” And we try to fix them. We give them this books, share articles, argue for why they must come back to church to be saved.

How often have we won the argument and lost the person?

What if being a living sacrifice means sharing in their doubts and struggles rather than winning a debate? What instead of “Let me tell you what you need to do”, we say, “Can I buy you lunch? Tell me more. Let me hurt with you.”

What if we create space for them to pour out their hearts and their struggles where they know they won’t be judged?

In Acts 3, when Peter and John were asked by the lame beggar for money, they didn’t have money to give! But they knew what the beggar needed wasn’t money, but to walk like a free man. And Peter said to him, “Silver and gold we do not have, but what we do have, that we give to you.”

When someone comes to me with a problem I cannot solve, I can say, “Look, I don’t have a solution to what you’re going through, but what I do have, I give to you. Here’s my heart. Here’s my time. Here are my tears.”

That’s what being a priest and a living sacrifice looks like.

Family

If you know a family with struggles, or you’re in a family with struggles, how do you be a priest and living sacrifice to them?

We watched the film “War Room” as a church some years ago. If you haven’t seen it, you should—it tells the story of basically a dysfunctional family that is transformed by the love of Christ.

And that journey of transformation and healing began because of a priestly figure. There is an elderly lady who meets the mother and senses something off. So she offers to meet with the mother. She goes to her prayer room and gets on her knees and fights for their family through prayer.

We live in a culture where family is more of a private thing. We don’t really publicize the nitty gritty details of our family affairs, especially the not-so-nice parts, and that’s okay.

But is there some way that we can grow in honesty and vulnerability?

Could we find one or two trustworthy people where you can say, “Hey I need help in my marriage” or “I don’t know what to do with my son” or “please pray for me so I can be a better father, mother, son or daughter, because I don’t know how.”

Church

When you get upset with people in the church (notice I say “when” not “if”) how do you be a priest and living sacrifice to them? It would be so much easier to get up and leave and find somewhere where the people are friendlier, where the building is nicer, where the preacher is better than a 20-something year old with barely any life experience.

‌Or is God calling you to be a “priest of priests” as Moses was to Israel? What if we’re called to pray for and love our imperfect brothers and sisters? What if God has planted us here not because of what we can get out of church, but because of how God can work through us to minister to others?

I want to commend our seniors ministry. Admittedly, our ministry team is skewed towards the younger side. So there was some talk about what could be done for older members by older members. Here was a lack, and they chose to see it as an opportunity to start something wonderful. That’s sacrificial – offering ourselves to create space for God to work.

I also want to mention brother Peter Guo. Some of you may have seen the youth gathering on Sunday afternoons, having lunch and Bible study. Peter has been leading those sessions for several weeks now and doing some powerful things. And he was baptised into Christ just last September! And that’s not to mention youth opening up their homes to host the session, or those youth being groomed to lead. That’s sacrificial – offering ourselves, regardless of age or resources, to create space for God to work.

How will you be a priest who sacrifices? This week, how will you create space for God to be present?

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, we are your servants. Called to be your image, your royal priesthood, empowered to bless the world. And we confess our failures, as individuals and as a community. And we confess our need for a priest of priests, a Great High Priest, who will intercede for us, who will sacrifice himself so that we might enjoy relationship with God Almighty, and that through him we may be restored to our own priesthood, and so sacrifice ourselves so that others may enjoy a relationship with you. Open our eyes to those opportunities this week. Holy Spirit, prompt us to see the things you see and feel the things you feel. May we be a living sacrifice in the name of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. Amen.