Perfect Priest

Prayer

What Child Is This? Series

So we’re into week two of Advent, season that we celebrate the coming of Jesus, his birth, at Christmas. We’ve been asking the question who this Jesus is, or as the song goes, What Child Is This? Our focus is on Jesus as the Messiah, which means the Anointed One. The Greek word for this is Christ. And Jesus fulfills this role as the Anointed One in three different ways - as prophet, priest and king.

Last week we talked about Jesus as the Promised Prophet. In Deuteronomy 18, Moses, speaking on behalf of the Lord, shares that a prophet was going to come who would speak to the Israelites exactly what the Lord wants them to know. He would speak the Word of the Lord to his people. And as we saw, that person was Jesus. He came to teach us, to share with us exactly what the Father wanted us to know. And therefore, we should listen to Jesus. Take his words seriously.

In two weeks, we’ll pick this back up by taking a look at another way in which Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One. That’s as King. Jesus is the Coming King. But this morning, we’re going to look at Jesus as the priest, the Perfect Priest. Those are the three roles, the three offices Jesus fulfills - Promised Prophet, Perfect Priest and the Coming King.

Before we talk about Jesus in the role of priest, it’s important to remind ourselves of what the role of the priest is. What exactly does a priest do? In many ways, this is true of priests across various religions. Primary role of a priest is to be intercessor between the people and their god. The go-between.

That’s exactly what we see in the Old Testament, when God sets aside the tribe of Levi to belong to him, they were chosen to serve him. In particular, within the tribe of Levi, it was Aaron, the brother of Moses, and his descendants, who were to serve the Lord as priests. So the priests that serve the people of Israel all came from the family line of Aaron. They were the ones anointed (pouring oil on the head as a way to signify that they were set aside, chosen by God, to serve him, in this case, as priests).

As I mentioned, the priest would mediate between the people of Israel and God, they were the go-between. The Israelites were actually glad about this - glad to have someone interceding for them - they recognized the holiness of God, his power and glory - they feared him, feared coming into his presence. This intercession played out in several ways.

Priests would bring the prayers of the people before God. Pray on their behalf. One of the primary roles of the priests was to burn incense on the altar in the Tabernacle, before the ark of the covenant, which stood behind the curtain in the Holy of Holies. The ark of the covenant represented God’s presence with his people, it was his throne. Incense symbolized the prayers of the people, smoke rising up before God. Priests would be the ones who daily burned the incense at the altar before the Lord.

People would come to the priests in order to inquire of the Lord. They would have a question, priest would cast lots (Urim and Thummin), seeking what God would say in response. We saw this numerous times as we went through 1 Samuel, with Saul and David.

We see it, too, in the sacrificial offerings. The people would bring their offerings to the priest who would then make the sacrifice before God on behalf of the people. This was true of burnt offerings (sacrifices that were totally destroyed), or fellowship offerings. But in particular, for sin offerings. The priest would take the animal that the person brought, sacrificing it on the altar so that person might be forgiven.

In particular I want to mention Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, because this was a day set aside for sin offerings. It was the one day of the year that the high priest would actually enter into the Holy of Holies, the place where the ark of the covenant was - he would do so only after had made a sacrifice for his own sins, and then bring the sacrifice for the sins of the people of Israel, so that their sins might be atoned for.

There was a lot more to the role of the priest, but I wanted to give you just a few of the highlights because it will help us to understand better how Jesus is the perfect priest. Now, there is one difficulty here - Jesus did not come from the correct tribe. Remember I said that priests only came from the tribe of Levi, from the family line of Aaron. Jesus was part of the tribe of Judah - so how could he fulfill the role of priest?

Jesus, Our Perfect Priest

We learn how by going to the book of Hebrews, which makes a lot of amazing connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament, particular in regards to how Jesus fulfills everything that we see in the Old Testament - but better. So much better. Including being the perfect priest. And the reason Jesus can come from a different tribe is that he comes from a different line of priests, from the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 5:1-6 - Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” 6 And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Notice that the first several verses reflect what we were just talking about - priest, in this case, the high priest, comes from out of the people, called by God, anointed by him, like Aaron was. High priest represents the people in matters related to God, offering gifts and sacrifices for sins on their behalf. So he is the mediator between the people and God. But he’s like all the other people, he has weaknesses, so he has to offer sins for himself as well.

But then, in verse 5-6, the writer of Hebrews explains that Jesus is a high priest as well, and like all the other high priests, he was called, anointed to the position by God. But, he is not in order of Aaron (tribe of Levi), but from another order, the order of Melchizedek. Writer is quoting from the Old Testament, from the Psalms, these are prophetic writings - God promising what is to come - first, his Son will come. Then declaring that this Son will be a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

So who the heck is Melchizedek? Honestly, there’s very little about him in the Bible, he’s a mysterious figure. Other than that verse in the Psalms, the only other place he shows up is in Genesis (and, of course, here in the book of Hebrews). In Genesis, Melchizedek has an encounter with Abraham, the great patriarch of the nation of Israel. He blesses Abraham and Abraham gives him gifts. All that we learn about Melchizedek is that not only is he a priest, but a king - he is the king of Salem.

Here’s the fascinating part - remember, names in Bible often have great significance, that’s certainly true here. Melchizedek - name means “king of righteousness.” And, as we said, he’s the king over Salem, Salem comes from Hebrew word, Shalom, which means peace (by the way, Salem will later become Jerusalem, capital of Israel). So, Melchizedek is both the king of righteousness and the king of peace.

And this is hugely import, because this is the order that Jesus is a priest of - and not just for a short time, but as the writer of Hebrews says, forever.

So, we have Jesus as priest. And he is a priest forever, eternally. And he is righteous. King of righteousness. And he brings peace, he is the King of peace. So Jesus is the holy, righteous forever priest who brings peace. And these things are essential, because it’s this righteousness and this eternal-ness that makes Jesus the perfect priest. What do I mean by that?

Hebrews 7:23-28 lays it out for us: Now there have been many of those priests (talking about high priests, the top priest), since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Notice what he says first - there have been many high priests, one after the other. They died, as we all do. And because they died, they couldn’t continue to serve the people before God. But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. He’s always there! Always ready! He was yesterday, ready right now. He’ll be there tomorrow as well. Forever.

Therefore, because this is true, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Always lives to intercede. This is Jesus as the perfect priest. We always have him ready to go to the Father on our behalf. This is why we pray, in the name of Jesus. We’re coming to the Father through Jesus, in his name.

Don’t miss this, it’s so crucial - because it means that I’m not coming to God on my own. On my merit. Because if that’s the case, forget it. I’m not worthy. Who am I to come before the Lord God Almighty One? The Holy One? But with Jesus, through him. Now we’re talking. Because Jesus knows. He knows our weaknesses. He knows the temptations we’ve experienced - and fallen prey to. He’s for us, no matter the mess we’ve made of our lives. He’s with us - inviting us to come to the Father, and he’s right there with us.

Exactly what Hebrews 4:14-16 teaches us: Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

We have a great high priest right there in heaven - Jesus, the Son of God. Let’s hold on to that - because this high priest is for us - as I mentioned before - knows how weak we can be, he was tempted, too - knows what that’s like (of course, thankfully, he never sinned). Therefore, because we have Jesus, this great high priest, the perfect priest - who always lives to intercede for us - let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Don’t hesitate, don’t wonder - should I? Dare I? Yes - go. Boldly, with confidence - because of Jesus. Because of Jesus, the Father is ready, from his throne, to pour out mercy and grace on us, to help us - and we need it. I need it. I trust you do, too.

Do you hear what this is telling us? That we should never doubt that we will be gladly received by the Father, that he’s ready for us to come right up to him and ask him for what we need - that he’s ready to pour out grace. To show us mercy. Because of Jesus. Because he is our perfect priest, ready always - forever - to intercede for us.

But there’s another way in which Jesus is the perfect priest. Not only is he there to always, always intercede for us, but he is able to save us completely. This is where it’s so essential that Jesus is righteous - or as we saw in Hebrews 7 - holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. The writer wants to make it crystal clear that Jesus is righteous. He always lives rightly, does the right thing. No sin.

Because this is so, he isn’t like those other high priests. They were like us. Weak. Fell to temptation. They had to offer sacrifices not just on behalf of the people, but for themselves as well. And the priests had to do it continually, day after day. Year after year, the high priest had to make sin offerings for himself and the people on the Day of Atonement.

But not Jesus - and this is so huge - not only does Jesus make the sacrifice for sin on our behalf - like any good priest, but Jesus IS the sacrifice. He willingly offers his life for our sake, for our sins. Hebrews 7:27 - He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. It’s done. Complete. No more sacrifices are needed. Jesus, the perfect priest has become the perfect sacrifice. The sacrifice that covers all of our sins - every sin you’re ever committed and every sin you will ever commit. All of them, from the smallest snubs of God to the most shameful acts you’re ever done or will do.

This is why he is able to save us completely. Not just part of us. Completely. This is why he is able to save us forever. Because he is the Perfect Priest.

Spiritual Disciplines - Last week, we talked about how Jesus is the Promised Prophet, the one who tells us exactly what the Lord wants us to know. And the correct response is to listen to him. Pay attention, take seriously what Jesus teaches. As we say it here at PCC - Lived Obedience to Jesus. This morning we’ve been talking about Jesus as the Perfect Priest. How should we respond to Jesus as the perfect priest? Exactly like the Bible teaches us - come to him.

Hebrews 4:16, Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence. Draw near to God, boldly. This is why Jesus died, why he offered himself as the perfect sacrifice, so we would have access to God, free and unfettered. One of the powerful images in the Bible is when, as Jesus dies on the cross, the curtain separating the Holy of Holies, God’s presence, was ripped in half, top to bottom. It was God declaring - come to me.

So, come to God through Jesus. When we pray, “in Jesus name” - becomes just what we say to end the prayer. I’m done now. But God is a personal being. The Father is a person (he is our Father). Jesus is a person, alive, ready to intercede for us. What I want to encourage you to do this week, to put into practice - to be mindful of this as you pray (if you don’t have a daily habit of taking time to pray, start there!) but as you pray, be mindful that you’re coming to the Father, Jesus right with you. Remind yourself that Jesus is right there with you.

Another discipline I would encourage you to engage in, this comes from Romans 12:1 - Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. As Jesus has offered himself, let’s offer ourselves in return, as an act of worship, as living sacrifices.

Jesus is our Perfect Priest, righteous, eternal, able to save us completely. Let us come to him.